Cooper Flagg projected to earn nearly $1 billion by the age of 31

The NBA is about to welcome Cooper Flagg, highly anticipated to be the No. 1 draft pick, on Wednesday night. Judging by his lone season at Duke, he could be the next big thing. Moreover, Flagg is likely in for some massive contracts right out of the gate.

Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac cracked some numbers to figure out how much money he could make in the next decade-plus, and we’re looking at generational wealth.

Per Ginnitti’s projection, Flagg will make $62.7 million in his rookie contract. Then, if things go well for him, he’ll be eligible for a 30% supermax extension in 2029 that could net him an additional $359 million.

Ginnitti then projects that he will be eligible for yet another supermax extension, this time worth as much as 35% of the salary cap to give him a whopping $509 million.

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If those numbers are correct and everything marches that way, that would put Flagg at a staggering $930 million by the end of the 2038 NBA season.

To make things even more impressive, he will be just 31 years old by then, so he could easily add more money with another five-year deal or so.

Of course, that's only assuming that Flagg will live up to the expectations, the salary cap projections are steady, and he stays healthy for long enough to cash all those checks.

Duke coach loves Cooper Flagg's fit with Mavericks

After winning the NBA draft lottery, the Dallas Mavericks will likely use their No. 1 pick to get their hands on Cooper Flagg.

And if you were to ask Duke coach Jon Scheyer, that's a match made in heaven for the young forward, who's always eager to learn and will look to pick everybody's brains in Dallas.

"To me, it's a dream spot," Scheyer told ESPN. "I really feel that way. He's not going to go into Dallas thinking he's got all the answers. He's going to learn from Kyrie, he's going to learn from [Davis]. He's going to learn from Derek Lively and Jason Kidd, and his staff. He's coming in to learn, and I think that's a special part about him."

Flagg still needs to prove that he's as special as the scouts and the tape say, but he has all the tools, intangibles and work ethic to become a superstar in no time.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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