Sorry, I am late to the party, but just heard about the story of how much we spent

[silentsaregolden2.0]

20M? Does anyone believe that? If true, why did we lose out on Wilkerson? I mean it's possible even though money wasn't an issue, Pope didn't want to go that high for him. I do think this is the last season for these insanely high budgets though.

 

[Someguywhodoesntlikeyou]

I do not believe that at all based on everything I’ve seen.

I bet at most it’s pushing 12

 

[ukcatz12]

Has to be more than that because I personally donated $25 million to the NIL fund.

 

[Wildcats1st]

The media has been accurate on everything else so…

 

[Rockfly78]

20M? Does anyone believe that? If true, why did we lose out on Wilkerson? I mean it's possible even though money wasn't an issue, Pope didn't want to go that high for him. I do think this is the last season for these insanely high budgets though.

Bro. It was more like 40m. Trust me

 

[Tf2217]

20M? Does anyone believe that? If true, why did we lose out on Wilkerson? I mean it's possible even though money wasn't an issue, Pope didn't want to go that high for him. I do think this is the last season for these insanely high budgets though.

Wilersons own words was "I wanted to be the guy not just another guy" He wanted to go be the centerpiece and not a piece.

 

[Someguywhodoesntlikeyou]

Wilersons own words was "I wanted to be the guy not just another guy" He wanted to go be the centerpiece and not a piece.

That was PR for the IU fans.

The truth is DeVries flew to Arkansas one day after the UK visit with more money and a job offer for a relative/handler.

 

[bluedom44]

Whether the amount is accurate or not, everyone believes that we have one of the most expensive rosters, if not the most expensive. If Pope doesn't at least get to the Final Four with our payroll, then God help him.

 

[silentsaregolden2.0]

That was PR for the IU fans.

The truth is DeVries flew to Arkansas one day after the UK visit with more money and a job offer for a relative/handler.

That's the way I took it. He knew the situation at UK before visiting, so why visit. Lexington isn't LA or Miami. You can never really go by what recruits say. They aren't going to make the fans think they were the 2nd option.

 

[howitis]

Matt from ksr says he can confirm it's not close to 20milion. But it seems like closer to 10 million

 

[silentsaregolden2.0]

Matt from ksr says he can confirm it's not close to 20milion. But it seems like closer to 10 million

You would think the only people who know for sure are the players and the staffs. It's in the players' interest to inflate the amounts. Sources that get info from either the player or staffs, have to take it with a grain of salt. There are incentives for both not to be entirely truthful.

 

[BlueSince92]

Twenty million dollars my ass.

 

[seccats04]

That was PR for the IU fans.

The truth is DeVries flew to Arkansas one day after the UK visit with more money and a job offer for a relative/handler.

That worked out for the best anyway. I’d much rather have Aberdeen and that’s not just sour grapes. Wilkerson may be a better three point shooter but Aberdeen is the better player overall and you can’t replace his championship experience.

 

[megablue]

Has to be more than that because I personally donated $25 million to the NIL fund.

Was your donation designated solely for basketball ??

 

[HymanKaplan]

Whether the amount is accurate or not, everyone believes that we have one of the most expensive rosters, if not the most expensive. If Pope doesn't at least get to the Final Four with our payroll, then God help him.

Why? What will happen if he doesn't? Will Joseph Smith take his planet away?

 

[Cleatortoises]

20M? Does anyone believe that? If true, why did we lose out on Wilkerson? I mean it's possible even though money wasn't an issue, Pope didn't want to go that high for him. I do think this is the last season for these insanely high budgets though.

No.

 

[Ron Mehico]

The week before Duke had 30 million, the week before that BYU paid 8 million just for AJ Dybanasta, etc etc. it’s all just agents throwing numbers to dumb journalists to inflate offers so everyone makes more money

 

[Stretch98]

That worked out for the best anyway. I’d much rather have Aberdeen and that’s not just sour grapes. Wilkerson may be a better three point shooter but Aberdeen is the better player overall and you can’t replace his championship experience.

I agree with this. Wilkerson had good shooting stats at Sam Houston State but who's to say he will repeat those numbers in the SEC with big time defenders (the likes of Denzel Aberdeen) in his grill every night. We know what Aberdeen can do in our league and in the NCAA Tournament.

 

[ukcatz12]

Was your donation designated solely for basketball ??

I told Mitch to earmark it specifically for the '25-'26 basketball team.

 

[Mike_Edwards]

The week before Duke had 30 million, the week before that BYU paid 8 million just for AJ Dybanasta, etc etc. it’s all just agents throwing numbers to dumb journalists to inflate offers so everyone makes more money

And people here eat it up…—hook line and sinker.

 

[jwphelps]

20M? Does anyone believe that? If true, why did we lose out on Wilkerson? I mean it's possible even though money wasn't an issue, Pope didn't want to go that high for him. I do think this is the last season for these insanely high budgets though.

First, I don't believe it is 20m, second no school out there is going to tell you how much they spent or how much a player got,

 

[9N9]

 

[MidseasonTweaks]

No chance we spent 20 million. Totally unbelievable.

 

[billoliver40]

Almost every coach states these figures are wildly inflated.

10-12 million for the entire team could well be true, but these numbers seem more like a wish list than facts.

 

[BigKari]

View embedded media

When the international King of hyperbole is calling it out, you know shit has gotten ridiculous.

 

[bucsrule8872]

20M? Does anyone believe that? If true, why did we lose out on Wilkerson? I mean it's possible even though money wasn't an issue, Pope didn't want to go that high for him. I do think this is the last season for these insanely high budgets though.

My theory (guess) on Wilkerson is that Pope wanted him at a much lesser price than what he got at IU.

Pope knew he could get as good or better, but since Wilkerson expressed interest and wanted to visit, Pope made him an offer. When Pope didn’t offer him enough, he went to IU.

Pope got a better player (IMHO) at the price he was willing to pay.

 

[FilsonCat]

There have been some wild numbers claimed, but there isn't proof of any of it. NDAs are being signed as standard practice and no one is showing their 1099 forms as proof of what they were paid. Until people show some actual proof, it is just rumor and hyperbole.

 

[catlogic15]

I heard it was closer to a gabillion gazillion.

 

[silentsaregolden2.0]

I heard it was closer to a gabillion gazillion.

 

[runt#69]

I think everyone on our board here is seeing this 20 million remark and pooh poohing it.

that said, it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was pretty close, considering what other schools are already putting out there. Some are always going to say CMP overspent (IF Kentucky doesn't make final fours or title games) and call it a failure for overspending.

I still think CMP is spending money wisely and making judicious choices as to who he is looking at and how they fit his system, though.

It'll all even out over time.

 

[EliteBlue]

I mean… I think it’s prob 15-20m.


jasper
Moreno
Noah
Chandler
Aberdeen
Kam
Garrison
Oweh
Jelavic
Dioubate
JQ
Lowe

That’s a legit 12 deep that is getting anywhere from 100k-2m

My bet is all the returnees other than maybe Noah are getting 1-2m.

Whether the amount is accurate or not, everyone believes that we have one of the most expensive rosters, if not the most expensive. If Pope doesn't at least get to the Final Four with our payroll, then God help him.

Results aren’t guaranteed in a 1nD tournament with a single season data point. Now if we have 3 seasons with a “20m payroll” and no final 4 then it’s a legit issue.

Elite 8 is the threshold for a successful season. If you have a top 5 type team you should make the E8 before you face peers capable of matching your talent. The E8 is also the round that surpasses our historical average of tournament success (we currently have a S16+0.7ish wins average…so just shy of E8)

 

[Worf88]

Really hope that number isn’t true because I’d be severely pissed if we spent $20M and only got the players we got out of it.

 

[cardsfan53]

I believe it should be public knowledge of what each player is making. Much like the NBA I also believe that it should be a cap on what each team is allowed to spend.

 

[catlogic15]

Good catch.

 

[cbrwalt]

Still, Pope put together a very deep roster. We have 10-12 guys who can play and deserve money. That being said you can't turn throw a bag at someone like Wilkerson when you also have all these other guys who deserve money.

I feel you can either be like Louisville and go get 2-3 stars that take a large bag to get. But it's very hard to build a deep roster this way.

Or you can be like Kentucky, and find system guys that are a little cheaper, but are still very good players and stack a very deep roster.


Both ways can produce a very good team. Have to wait to see which one does better this year.

 

[Kycatspaws]

I think they're giving out twenty of these.

 

[sk73]

I don't think the NIL works quite like some of us imagine. The school itself doesn't actually pay the 5, 10, 20 whatever million. If we are talking the figures for the schools actually making the payments, then it is simply a matter of public record. The collectives are harder to pin down. Though I like the idea of players benefitting from the huge incoming revenue, I despise what we and, the rest of college sports, have become. jmo

 

[gojvc]

Has to be more than that because I personally donated $25 million to the NIL fund.

Cheapskate.

 

[thebluestripes]

The whole discussion of legally buying players is still taking time to get used to.

 

[mebeblue2]

I believe it should be public knowledge of what each player is making. Much like the NBA I also believe that it should be a cap on what each team is allowed to spend.

i am going to play devil's advocate
should it be public knowledge how much you or I or anyone else makes?