"If Auburn's going to sue him, I'm on board with that": Analyst Rob Dauster speaks out on Chad Baker-Mazara's reported contract with Tigers
Auburn Tigers guard Chad Baker-Mazara is looking to extend his stay in collegiate hoops with a different program. On April 16, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native expressed his desire to enter the transfer portal for the 2025-26 campaign.
On Tuesday, college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman revealed on the Field of 68 on YouTube that Chad Baker-Mazara still has contractual stipulations that make his transfer move shady to the Tigers program.
Fellow analyst Rob Dauster gave his thoughts on the same, reasoning why the fifth-year standout could be on the move.
"Well, it depends. I get why Chad is going to want to try to get back out there and make a little bit more money, right? I also think it's a situation similar to what we talked about with Denzel Aberdine where if he stays around the Auburn program, the long-term benefits of that significantly outweigh the one-time payday he's going to be able to make." (2:34)
Dauster shared his thoughts on what the Auburn program could do to handle the situation fairly and in a justified manner.
"I'm on board, if Auburn's going to sue him, I'm on board with that. You sign a contract that has that as the buyout, and then you still put your name in the portal like that's, if this is going to be professional basketball, we're going to be dealing with no sign. We're going to be dealing with millions and millions of dollars," Dauster said. (3:15)
"And you sign something, a legal document, and then try to bet you can't back out of that. That's not how it works. This is the real world now this professional sports. You sign a contract that you don't like. In the NBA, you know what? You either play it out, or you hold out until they they offer to give you more money. But, the power is with the program," he concluded.
In the 2024-25 season, Chad Baker-Mazara was a huge factor in the Bruce Pearl-coached squad's NCAA Final Four berth in the 2025 March Madness, finishing with an overall record of 32-6 and 15-3 in SEC play.
How did Chad Baker-Mazara fare last season?
In the 2025 NCAA national tournament, Chad Baker-Mazara was one of the oldest players. Only BYU Cougars senior Trevin Knell, 26, was older. Baker-Mazara turns 26 on Jan. 27.
After spending two years with the Auburn Tigers, the senior is looking to close out his potential sixth year of college basketball strong. On the 2024-25 season, Baker-Mazara averaged a career-high 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.