One of the hot topics around college sports now is the NIL money these programs are spending on their teams. Fans of programs that spend a lot of NIL money feel that the money put into the roster should lead to more wins. Kentucky fans have heard for years now that Mark Pope has had a very expensive roster every year, he has been in Lexington, but especially last year.

Well, according to Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports , Pope and the Wildcats are among the top spenders this season as well. Tier one on this list from Trotter was the teams that spent over 20 million on their rosters, and the Wildcats fell under this category. The teams in this first tier that spent 20 million or more on their roster for this season are Kentucky, Texas, Texas Tech, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, Louisville, and St. John's.

Oct 14, 2026; Birmingham, AL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope speaks during the SEC Basketball Tipoff at Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook.…