Kansas guard Gradey Dick (4) puts up a three against Texas Southern during the first half on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Long before Gradey Dick arrived on KU’s campus, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said the five-star freshman from Wichita stood to benefit the most of anyone on KU’s 2022-23 roster from the abundance of name, image and likeness opportunities headed his way.

More than all the jerseys and T-Shirts he figures to sell because of his unique last name, Self thought the freshman guard would get some of the biggest and most lucrative opportunities because of his status as the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and his huge following on social media channels.

On Tuesday, the freshman guard made arguably his biggest NIL splash to date, signing with Adidas along with three other Division I college basketball players — Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino, of Indiana, and Northwestern State’s Hansel Emmanuel, who has wowed millions with his highlight-reel dunks despite having just one arm.

Not surprisingly, all four currently play at Adidas schools.

Details about what signing with Adidas meant, or will mean, were limited Tuesday, but some reports indicated that the foursome will compete in upcoming campaigns for the brand. Earlier this year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Adidas signed similar deals with 15 women’s college basketball players.

According to Boardroom.TV, Dick’s more notable deals to date have come with Long McArthur Ford — you might remember seeing his television commercial — Neutrogena and Dolce & Gabbana.

Dick, who is represented by both KU’s collective, Mass Strategies, as well as WME Sports, has inked several other deals, as well, with some involving merchandising and others as part of community outreach programs for local charities.

On3.com, a fairly new sports analysis website started by Rivals.com founder Shannon Terry, has made tracking NIL a big part of its brand, and the site currently lists Dick with the 22nd highest NIL valuation in all of college basketball — $349,000.

KU junior Jalen Wilson, who has gotten off to a torrid start, ranks 10th on the list at $633,000. Dajuan Harris Jr. (28th at $242,000), MJ Rice (54th at $144,000) and Kevin McCullar Jr. (72nd at $112,000) are the other Jayhawks in the On3 Top 100.

According to the site, the On3 NIL Valuation is an algorithm that calculates the projected annual value of high school and college athletes’ marketability in the NIL space.

Included among the factors considered are the athlete’s brand value and roster value, both of which play a heavy role in the athlete’s appeal to third-party sponsors for NIL opportunities.

On the court, Dick is off to a solid start with the Jayhawks. He has started all nine games for No. 6 Kansas thus far and his 15.3 points per game lead all Big 12 freshmen 24 3-pointers are the second most in the conference to date.

Earlier this week, Dick was named the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season.