Three men convicted of corrupting the NCAA by paying young basketball players to attend Adidas-sponsored colleges, were all sentenced to under a year in prison Tuesday.

Ex-Adidas exec James Gatto was sentenced to nine months in prison while both ex-Adidas consultant Merl Code and sports business agent Christian Dawkins were sentenced to 6 months — all well below federal sentencing guidelines.

Gatto faced nearly five years in prison while his co-defendants faced up to three years under federal guidelines.

Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan said he believed the men had “learned their lesson” and wouldn’t harm anyone in the future.

Still, Kaplan said he wanted to impose a sentence “that will be a great big warning light for the basketball world.”

Their October trial called into question the ethics of college basketball with testimony about how it was common practice to pay players despite NCAA rules prohibiting player enrichment.

Gatto, 48 — who was accompanied to court by his wife and two kids — choked up during his statements to the judge.

“The game of basketball has been a part of my entire life,” Gatto said adding, “but I didn’t follow by the rules of the game.”

Code, 45, said he “deeply” regretted what brought him to court but noted he believes, “things need to be changed about college basketball.”

“In my quest to get ahead I broke the rules and made poor choices,” said Dawkins, 26.

Though none of the men made extra money from their illegal dealings, Assistant US Attorney Edward Diskant said, “there is no question each of these defendants were acting for personal and competitive advantage.”

As part of the sentencing, Code and Dawkins must each pay $28,261 in restitution while the restitution amount for Gatto will be argued at an April 9 hearing.

A dispute remains between Gatto and prosecutors over what his restitution should be in light of the fact that damage was done that cannot easily be quantified, such as the damage to the colleges’ reputations or to students’ athletic careers.

“There was a lot greater harm inflicted by this behavior than can be reflected in dollars,” Kaplan said adding that he thought the greatest loss was felt by Brian “Tugs” Bowen who couldn’t finish college and was barred from NCAA.

Bowen’s father, Brian Bowens Sr., testified at trial that he was paid under-the-table by universities who wanted to attract the promising player, well before his son was headed to college.

Bowens’ dad — who cooperated with prosecutors — said that Gatto, Code, and Dawkins helped him hammer out a $100,000 deal with Adidas for his son to attend the University of Louisville, a school that was sponsored by the sportswear giant.

Kaplan said the men — who are set to serve their time in minimum security federal facilities — may remain out on bail pending the appeal of their convictions.

Their trial was the first of three meant to clean up college basketball, including the trial for ex-NBA star Chuck “The Rifleman” Person and three other former assistant coaches, which is slated to begin in June.