Reactions To The Duke-Amazon Deal Have Been Interesting

The reactions to Duke’s deal with Amazon Prime have been interesting, to say the least.

Is it a turning point in college athletics? Probably. Is it something that can’t be overcome? Probably not.

Over at OrangeFizz.net, there is outrage, a sense that Duke just got an unmatchable advantage, and that it “bought” it.

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To that, we have a few comments. First, strictly speaking, Duke sold; Amazon bought.

Second, there’s no particular reason why Duke should do well. It’s done well because Mike Krzyzewski built a monster program just as ESPN came along, and was smart enough to adapt to several changes in the game in the intervening years. He also mastered some elements of an M.B.A., notably branding (it’s possible that Quin Snyder, who earned an M.B.A. from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, helped Coach K down that particular road).

Jon Scheyer has also done a brilliant job adapting to the current environment, and has generally been ahead of the curve. The first GM in college basketball? Check. Figuring out NIL? Check. Adapting to the portal? Check again.

Duke didn’t get the Amazon deal just because it’s Duke. Duke is Duke because the people who have managed Duke Basketball have been really, really smart.

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In other words, it didn’t just happen. Duke was ready for the opportunity.

However, the Orange Fizz article is correct, because it is an advantage for Duke. It didn’t dawn on us immediately, but look at when the first two Prime games are scheduled: UConn on Thanksgiving Eve, almost immediately before Black Friday, and against Michigan on December 21st, just before Christmas. Everything else aside, that’s the sweet spot, especially if you have players pitching Amazon products on those dates. NIL will run like water.

The third game will be Duke’s traditional late-season out-of-conference tuneup, and the Blue Devils will face Gonzaga on Feb. 20 in Detroit.

But here’s where Orange Fizz gets it wrong.

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People forget that when…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/reactions-duke-amazon-deal-interesting-114600077.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-02 11:46:00

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