“Money talks.” It’s an adage that has spanned decades across multiple industries and businesses and now finds its place squarely in the middle of college athletics.
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) has changed the game of college basketball and can easily increase or decrease a team’s chances of winning – and Kansas basketball is no exception.
Long gone are the days when the blue bloods of college basketball ruled the land due to their great history, notoriety, and ability to churn out future pros. Now, the best teams in college basketball are any who are willing (and able) to spend to put together the best roster.
CBS Sports writers Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter recently published a report detailing the average NIL cost of constructing a college basketball roster in 2026. Among the 79 Power Five programs and Gonzaga, the average cost in NIL came to $13.5 million.
The Big 12 Conference average came in just slightly below that average at $12.7 million, which was fourth in average spending behind the SEC ($17.3M), the Big East ($13.6M), and the Big Ten ($12.7M).
READ MORE: Biggest Takeaways from Bill Self at Big 12 Media Days
In the report, roster spending averages are divided into seven tiers.
Tier 1 includes programs that are spending $20 million or more. Schools listed in that group include Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Louisville, Tennessee, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Michigan, and Florida.
Tier 2 includes programs that are spending just under $20 million – and that is where the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves along with Arkansas, Indiana, and UConn.
However, the report suggests that if Trey Kaufman-Renn, Tre White, and Melvin Council Jr. are eligible for the entire season, it could bump KU into Tier 1 with most of their fellow blue bloods.
“If Kansas is able to roster Trey Kaufman-Renn AND the Jayhawks get Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. eligible for the entire season, our information suggests KU would hit $20 million later this season, but as of this story's publication, the Jayhawks are an eyelash away and literally as close to Tier 1 as possible. (Kansas also boasts the most expensive freshman in college basketball, No. 1 prospect Tyran Stokes).”
These estimates feel right for a Kansas team that likely lacks a lot of future NBA talent outside of
Stokes. It’s not a team stacked with former five-star recruits, and the transfers they’ve brought in are good, but none were ranked inside the top 50 in 247Sports’ 2026 transfer player rankings.
Collectively though, it’s a team that could be one of the deepest in college basketball this year. And with that kind of quality depth comes quality costs.
The Jayhawks are spending big to win big, and that is exactly what is expected out of this year’s team.
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