Projecting Marcus Spears Jr.'s Texas NIL Package

As BYU proved when it landed eventual No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa ... Texas' Big 12 rivals are willing to shell out massive amounts of cash to secure superstar prospects.

Dybantsa reportedly landed an NIL package worth roughly $7 million to spend his lone collegiate season in Provo, which was widely described as the largest ever for a college hoops recruit. 

But Dybantsa's deal may eventually become the new standard — and perhaps even a blueprint for what the Longhorns and head coach Sean Miller needed to offer Marcus Spears Jr. to bring him to Austin.

Spears, 17, is the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2027 class and is reclassifying ... and Spears will join Miller's star-studded roster for the upcoming season ... but at a steep cost. 

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If Dybantsa cost BYU roughly $7 million, it stands to reason that landing Spears — another potential No. 1 pick a year later — could require a similar investment from Texas.

For context, Kansas' Tyran Stokes is currently the favorite to be the top pick in the 2027 NBA draft, and he reportedly got $7 million from Bill Self and company. 

There's no guarantee that Spears would match Stokes' No. 1 projection in 2027 — but his mock placement and valuation would be quite close to Kansas' newest star. 

An open bidding war for the Plano, Texas, native? So it seems.

That's why the Longhorns may need to give him upwards of $8 million to get him to commit. 

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While that's quite the price tag for a player who is almost guaranteed to be a lottery pick, Spears' talent could take Texas from being viewed as a top-10 team in the nation to top-5 overnight. 

As Miller and company gear up to build on last season's surprising run to the Sweet 16, adding Spears to a reloaded roster that already includes David Punch, Elyjah Freeman, Amari Evans, Mikey Lewis and Isaiah Johnson would raise the Longhorns' ceiling exponentially.

But landing the nation's top prospect won't come cheap.