Duke’s Jon Scheyer: Amazon games about getting players ‘exposure from an NIL perspective’

Earlier this year, the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball program announced a multiyear agreement with Prime Video to exclusively present three neutral-site nonconference games each season.

The announcement included a Nov. 25 game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, when Duke faces UConn, a Dec. 21 tilt at Madison Square Garden against national champion Michigan, and a Feb. 20 game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit against Gonzaga. After the Big Ten cried foul over the Michigan game at MSG, which was then moved to LoanDepot Park in Miami before it was eventually canceled, Texas Tech stepped in to take that spot back in NYC.

While it caused quite a stir when announced, Duke coach Jon Scheyer sees benefits in these nationally streamed games, not just for the program but specifically for how players can benefit from them from an NIL perspective.

Scheyer was a guest on a recent episode of Inside College Basketball Now with Jon Rothstein and was asked about how the Amazon-Duke relationship came together.

“Long story short, really trying to figure out ways to continue to get exposure for our program,” said Scheyer. “Continue to stay a step ahead and do things differently. You think about ways, ultimately long-term, you’re trying to provide ways for your guys to get exposure from an NIL perspective as well.

“I think for us, if you look at the history of our program, we’ve been cutting edge and thinking about ways we can separate ourselves. And so this has been a great thing. Really excited about it.

“I know you’re gonna have to go to a different channel, John. I don’t know if you got Amazon, but make sure you get it for these games, just for those 3. And I think this can be 3 big-time games in great environments as well.”

While it might end up fine for Duke moving forward, the Prime deal caused months of headaches and bad vibes between conferences. While the ACC and ESPN gave Duke their blessing, the Big Ten and Fox Sports claimed rights to the Michigan game based on a prior agreement covering states with conference teams and adjacent states, which would include New York City. That led to the bizarre move to Florida in an attempt to stave off conflicts, but the game ultimately fell through.

That will be a situation to watch in the years ahead to see if similar issues arise over the teams and conferences involved in these matchups.