Yaxel Lendeborg went from turning down a $9 million NIL deal in college to a $28 million contract with the Warriors: Here’s more about his contract and net worth

Debuting for the Warriors, Yaxel Lendeborg is making quite the show in his rookie season. Yaxel scored his career high on Sunday, November 1, with 37 points. The score also included six 3-pointers.

Even before playing for the Warriors, Yaxel name waves during his college basketball career playing for the Michigan Wolverines. There he became one of college basketball’s most valuable players. He has also played for the Arizona Western Matadors and the UAB Blazers.

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Yaxel turned down $9 million NIL deal to keep playing for Michigan

Yaxel had also entered the 2025 NBA draft, however he withdrew and chose to keep playing for University of Michigan. He was projected to be signed to a $2.7 million contract in his first year and a $14 million four-year contract if selected.

According to preseason estimates in 2025, Michigan had offered Yaxel about $3 million in a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal to keep him with them. They finally paid him $5 million including revenue share.

Yaxel has earlier revealed that he turned down a $7 to $9 million NIL deal from Kentucky Wildcats , rather choosing to stay with Michigan and play under Dusty May. Yaxel told the Associated Press that, “They (Kentucky) were pretty much going off on the route like we’ll pay him anything to get here”.

Talking about his decision to turn down the deal, Yaxel told AP, “I was raised with it (money) and I went my whole life without it”. He further added, “What if I mess up my career because I chased the money instead of a future?,” saying he chose Michigan because coach Dusty did not talk about money “at all” and only about how to make him a better athlete and help him achieve his goals.

How much does Yaxel earn with the Warriors?

Yaxel was selected as the 11th overall pick by the Warriors in the 2026 NBA Draft in June 2026. He was the oldest player to be selected in the first round of the 2026 draft.

He signed his first professional contract with the Warriors in July 2026. The four-year contract is worth $28.1 million and includes a $12.4 million guarantee. With the contract he gets an annual salary of over $6 million, with a cap of $6,096,240 in the 2026-27 season, according to the sports data aggregation website, Spotrac. He will get paid $6.4 million in the 2027 season, then $6.7 million in the 2028 season and finally $8.8 million in 2029 season, which is also the last in his contract, if the team keeps him on for the whole tenure.

Yaxel made his NBA regular season debut on October 21 against the LA Lakers. During the game he went viral for his trash talk with Luka Doncic, and the two continued to exchange words even after the game ended. During his October 28 game against, Minnesota Timberwolves, he became one of the three highest NBA 5-game debuts since 2000. He joined NBA great Kevin Durant and Paolo Banchero.

According to Essentially Sports, Yaxel’s total career earnings were between $2.5 million and $4 million before he signed with the Warriors. He had signed some endorsement deals including one with Wedny’s and with CAVA, where he got his own custom bowl known as Yaxel’s Game Day Bowl.

Apart from his NBA career, Yaxel has also represented the Dominican Republic national team in 2022. Both his parents, Yissel Rapso and Okary Lendeborg, also played for the team. He is next set to represent the country to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.