Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles made a massive decision on Monday night that certainly had people involved in college basketball talking. Projected as one of the top prospects in the upcoming WNBA draft, Miles is not only staying in college, but she’s also hitting the transfer portal. 

After being eliminated from the Sweet Sixteen this past weekend, the star point guard from Notre Dame had been wavering about whether she would leave for professional basketball, or return to college for another season. Turns out, the projected No.2 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft has decided to stay in college, but look for a new home next season in college basketball. 

After spending the last four seasons with Notre Dame, Olivia chose to enter the transfer portal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania

The guard has another year of eligibility due to suffering an ACL injury in 2023, and plans on using it to cash in on one more season of NIL. Besides the fact that Miles has decided to play another year of college basketball, entering the transfer portal is a massive move for the star. 

If you are wondering why Miles would decide to stay in college, look no further than the current NIL structure, and the amount of money she will be able to make next season. But there’s also the ongoing discussion surrounding the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which will expire after the finals this season, which has led to a lot of noise surrounding the professional league. 

While the league will try and negotiate with the players’ union, this was clearly on the mind of Olivia Miles as she decided what the next year would look like. Right now, WNBA rookies who are drafted with the first-four picks are making only $78,831 per season. 

Now, that obviously doesn’t include marketing deals that the athletes sign, but it’s clear that with NIL being so prevalent in college athletics right now, Oliva Miles will make more money next season by playing another season at the collegiate level. 

Rough Look For Current WNBA Contracts, But Olivia Miles Will Cash-In

This move is also a massive blow to the WNBA, at least from a publicity standpoint. Having a talented player like Olivia Miles forgo the opportunity to turn professional due to financial ramifications is not good for business. 

With revenue-sharing on the horizon for college athletics, which is expected to start this summer, players in both men’s and women’s sports are having to make some tough decisions about when is the right time to move on. According to one power-five coach that recently spoke with OutKick, a top-tier point guard on the men’s side will make anywhere between two and three million next season. 

After Notre Dame lost to TCU this past weekend, Olivia Miles said she was leaning towards the WNBA, but that the volatility hadn’t helped in making a decision. 

“I am still thinking about what I want to do, but leaning towards the draft,” Miles mentioned postgame. “But tomorrow, I might wake up and be like, ‘I want to come back.’ So, it just changes every day. I love college. I think I’ve outgrown it a little bit, though, so that makes my decision tougher to stay. It’s comfortable, a place where you have security.

“The W … the volatility is up and down. So I don’t know. I’m deciding between a bunch of factors.”

If you look at the women’s side of the equation, there is obviously money to be made by returning for another season. In recent years, it has been the Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese effect. Then, JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers, Flau’Jae Johnson and others cashed-in on the increased exposure to the women’s game that has seen a massive increase in television exposure. 

The minimum salary for WNBA players next season is a reported $66,079 and the max contract hovers around $200,000 per year. There are women college athletes making the WNBA minimum salary per month right now, so that should tell you a lot about why the professional players are looking for a significant pay increase on this next deal. 

There have also been WNBA stars discussing a possible lockout next season if they cannot reach an agreement, which only fuels the fire for athletes to stay in college, especially in this NIL era. 

Now, with the transfer portal open and Olivia Miles playing for another season, she is about to reap the benefits of her decision to stay in college.