Top 5 NIL funds in college basketball ft. John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks
Ever since the NIL rule came into effect, it has become the single biggest factor players consider when deciding which school to commit to. While programs like Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina have always been powerhouses on the recruiting trail, the name, image and likeness ruling has somewhat leveled the playing field.
For college basketball teams to compete at the highest level, around $1.5 million to $3 million in NIL funds is generally needed annually, per a report published by On3's Jamie Shaw.
Here are five programs that generate the most NIL funds.
Top five college basketball programs with most NIL funds
#1. Arkansas Razorbacks - $5 million [estimated]
John Calipari, the new coach of Arkansas, is expected to have access to over $5 million in NIL funds per year, per multiple reports.
Calipari, who joined the Razorbacks in the summer, led Kentucky to the national championship in 2012, and with the money he could spend, he could quickly turn Arkansas back into a national power.
Some of the major NIL investors behind the program include billionaire John H. Tyson, the Walton family and Arkansas Edge.
#2. Kentucky Wildcats - $5 million [estimated]
New Kentucky coach Mark Pope also gets to enjoy a substantial amount of NIL funds, estimated to be around $5 million per year.
The school's NIL collective, Club Blue, raised $1 million through yearly donations from regular fans. On top of that, Kentucky received an additional $4 million from two donors this year, significantly boosting its NIL war chest.
#3. Kansas - $4 million [estimated]
According to 247Sports, Kansas spent over $4 million on NIL deals for its men's basketball last season. However, coach Bill Self said all that NIL stuff about the program is "full of crap."
"People actually believe that we have $7.1 million in NIL. That was reported the other day. If we had had $7.1 million in NIL we would have (Kevin) Durant and LeBron (James) suiting up for us," Self said.
However, the Jayhawks do have lucrative NIL collectives that provide substantial funds for players. Some of them are:
- Mass St. Collective
- Fanatics
- Rally House
- Jayhawk NIL
#4. Indiana - $4 million [estimated]
Coach Mike Woodson's Indiana is another program that has around $4 million to invest in its NIL pool. Earlier this year, the school raised $2 million in holiday fundraising.
The program's two collectives, Hoosiers Connect and Hoosiers For Good, have been very active in building NIL deals for players. Indiana was 19-14 overall last season and failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament. Woodson cannot afford another bad season, so he needs to spend the money wisely.
#5. Syracuse - $2.5 million [estimated]
Syracuse is the surprise addition to the list. The Orange were able to raise around $2.5 million in NIL funds for the upcoming season.
Orange United, a business-focused NIL group, was founded last September to support the Syracuse men's basketball program. Orange United has teamed up with the media rights company LEARFIELD, and it seems to be the main group organizing NIL deals for Syracuse players.