Kentucky head coach Mark Pope may have joked about the price tag on his 2025–26 roster — but the truth is, he wasn’t far off. New estimates show that this year’s team will rank among the most expensive in college basketball history.
According to Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Kentucky’s total payroll will surpass the $20 million mark projected earlier this offseason, coming in around $22 million once NIL and revenue-sharing numbers are factored in.
That figure absolutely dwarfs anything from the John Calipari era. Calipari’s final Kentucky roster, in 2023–24, was worth just under $4 million in NIL value. Now, there’s a real possibility that one player on Pope’s squad could be earning nearly that much on his own.
As part of the new revenue-sharing structure, Kentucky basketball is estimated to receive 25–30% of the school’s athletic revenue share — a percentage that would rank among the highest in the sport. While it’s not the 45% figure reported earlier in the summer by Matt Norlander, the 25–30% range still translates to roughly $5–6 million in shared revenue.
As Pope continues to build his second roster in Lexington, the Wildcats’ willingness to invest may mark the start of a new era in college basketball. This era won’t just be defined by wins and banners — but by financial power, roster value, and the size of the budget behind the blue.
