UNC's Henri Veesaar Reportedly Turned Down 'Big' NIL Contracts, Will Stay In 2026 NBA Draft

Henri Veesaar is reportedly heading to the NBA and turned down some notable name, image and likeness offers to do so.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported Friday that the North Carolina big man "intends to stay in the NBA draft" despite offers from multiple schools of at least $6 million to join them via the transfer portal.

While the Tar Heels weren't offering that much, Norlander noted they "definitely could've cleared $4 million had he opted to stay."

Veesaar started his collegiate career at Arizona as a 4-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, per 247Sports.

However, he wasn't much of a factor as a freshman, redshirted in 2023-24 and then was a secondary contributor who averaged 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 2024-25. He decided to transfer ahead of last season and ended up with the Tar Heels.

The big man helped lead the program to the men's NCAA tournament by taking a leap as a double-double threat every time he stepped on the floor. He averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 60.8 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from deep.

His ability to extend his game beyond the arc made him a matchup problem, and he was a rebounding presence on both ends of the floor. The end result was an All-ACC Second Team selection.

While North Carolina has brought in Virginia Tech's Neoklis Avdalas, Utah's Terrence Brown and NC State's Matt Able from the transfer portal, this is still quite a blow to its 2026-27 outlook under new head coach Michael Malone. Had he figured out a way to keep Veesaar in the fold, the big man could have contended for an All-ACC First Team spot.

Yet Veesaar is turning his attention to the next level as a potential first-round pick.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman projected Veesaar as an early second-round pick as the No. 38 selection in his latest mock draft and pointed to Nikola Vučević as a pro comparison. 

Still, there is a chance to move up in the draft with Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports pointing out Florida's Thomas Haugh, Duke's Patrick Ngongba and UConn's Braylon Mullins all decided to return to the college basketball ranks for next season.

That could allow frontcourt players such as Veesaar to play their way into the first round during the predraft process.