Tounde Yessoufou, a 20-year-old prospect who had initially declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, has officially withdrawn his name after accepting an offer to join the St. John’s Red Storm basketball team in a transfer portal move away from the Baylor Bears.
ESPN’s senior NBA insider, Shams Charania, initially confirmed this information. Subsequently, UCLA Bruins reporter Aaron Heisen claimed that Yessoufou has been made an offer upwards of $7 million.
“Yessoufou, a Baylor transfer, chose the Red Storm over UCLA and others because St. John’s, a non-football school, could ensure fully guaranteed rev-share money to a student-athlete on an international visa,” Heisen wrote on X.
“UCLA had a ‘competitive offer’ and a prior relationship with Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou. But St. John’s fully guaranteed, revenue-share-based deal for a student-athlete on an international visa was unmatchable,” he further added.
Earning $7 million in a single season would put him in the same position as what he would have earned if he were the sixth pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA draft.
However, Yessoufou took to social media after announcing his decision and claimed that this decision was not about money.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for always giving me the strength, courage, and faith to persevere through every challenge and moment of adversity. I also want to thank my family for standing by my side through thick and thin, especially throughout this process and this important decision.”
“I usually don’t speak publicly about things like this, but I feel it’s important to address a few things. Ever since I was a kid, my dream has always been to play in the NBA, and that dream has never changed. At the same time, I’ve always believed in myself and have always been self-aware enough to understand what I need to do to put myself in the best position to succeed.”
“I’ve seen and heard the rumors and speculation surrounding my decision. The truth is, none of that affects me. My entire life, I’ve been criticized, doubted, and questioned, and I’ve learned to stay focused on what matters. I want to make one thing very clear: my decision to attend St. John’s has nothing to do with money. My decision was based on basketball, development, and winning.”
“I love what Coach Rick Pitino has built at St. John’s. His experience, leadership, and résumé speak for themselves, but what stood out most to me was the belief he has in his players, his relentless work ethic, and his ability to help good players become great players while also helping them grow as men.”
“At every level I’ve played, my goal has always been to compete for championships. I made this decision based on where I believe I can best develop as a player, grow as a leader, and put myself in the strongest position to achieve my ultimate goals. This was a basketball decision. This was a development decision. This was a winning decision. That’s the truth,” wrote Yessoufou.
In comparison, that is more than the salary of Jalen Williams ($6,580,997), a former All-NBA player, for the 2025-26 season, which is almost the same as the combined salaries of Jared McCain ($4,221,360) and Ajay Mitchell ($3,000,000).
Yessoufou was expected to be a first-round pick, but possibly would not have been a top-six selection. The average salary of a first-round pick is $2.5 million. By returning to college for another season, the Benin native has guaranteed approximately three times that amount in just one year.
Yet, Yessoufou emphasizes that his decision was not for money but for his personal development. Even though his message is noble, his situation acts as a case study: with this tremendous rise in players’ potential earnings in college, compared to what they could earn at the professional level, we are increasingly seeing players go back to college despite being ready to compete at the pro level.
In my opinion, even though in the short term this might mean fewer potential prospects for the draft, in the long run, it would lead to a lot more educated players, which can break the rising trend of athletes going broke right after retirement. Hence, even though in the short term, it may seem like this is about money, in the long run, this benefits the athletes only.
