If we are spending $22 million this year,

[kywildcat1021979]

Here is what I found when I googled:

How much does Otega Oweh make in NIL money?

Otega Oweh NIL Details
While the specific total value of his current contracts is not publicly itemized, reports and sources indicate:

• On3 NIL Valuation: Oweh's general market valuation by On3 is listed at $385,000.
• Reported Deals: Sources indicate he has a substantial deal as part of Kentucky's overall men's basketball NIL budget, which is reportedly around $22 million for the 2025-26 season.
• Rejected Offers: He has reportedly rejected a $25 million NIL deal to play for the University of Louisville and a $5.4 million offer from Auburn.
• Partnerships: Specific brands he has partnered with include ALFA Clothiers, Club Blue, Crimson and Cream, Nike, and EA Sports.
• Comparison: One report suggests he makes more in NIL than the entire Gonzaga basketball team's total NIL budget, which was around $3 million.

So basing it off of this Oweh is a big chunk of the 22 million. If he turned down 25 million from Louisville , 5.4 million from and Auburn , and one report suggests he makes more than the whole Gonzaga team around 3 million. UK paid him a pretty nice chunk of change for him to turn down Louisville and Auburn.

 

[Supafuzz75]

If you are talking about the $22M, yes, its a bad guess. If you are talking about the top 5 earners, no. Multiple sites have the same 5 at the same figures

Again,, thats their market value,, still a guess.. Could be more could be less..

 

[Supafuzz75]

He's an idiot.

His mamma could of swallowed and saved us from all this from him..

 

[Seth_C]

I can believe we had $22 million available. I do not believe we spent that much. Even $15 million (my estimate) for what we got is a bad look. If we honestly spent $22 million on this roster anyone who was involved shouldn’t be allowed to keep their job.

 

[kywildcat1021979]

This is Jayden Quaintance and Denzel Aberdeen's earnings:

As of December 2025, Kentucky forward Jayden Quaintance has a reported NIL valuation of $2 million per On3, making him one of the highest-paid players in college basketball.

Context

• National Ranking: His valuation is ranked as the sixth-highest among all college basketball players and 21st among all college athletes for the 2025-26 season.
• Deals: Quaintance has reported individual deals with brands like PSD Underwear and Panini America.
• Transfer & Injury: He transferred to Kentucky from Arizona State after his freshman season and is currently rehabbing from an ACL tear. His lucrative NIL deal reflects a significant investment by the Kentucky program despite his injury.

Denzel Aberdeen's exact NIL earnings for 2025 aren't public, but reports from April 2025 indicated he received a significant deal, potentially around $1.5 million to $2 million, to transfer to Kentucky from Florida, with sources suggesting Florida wouldn't match his $2 million asking price to stay. While specific figures are private, reports highlight his substantial earnings as part of Kentucky's balanced NIL strategy for their 2025 roster, which focused on spreading funds across versatile players.
Key Details:

• Reported Figure: Rumors and reports from his transfer cited around $2 million.
• Context: This was a major factor in his decision to leave Florida for Kentucky in the 2025 transfer portal.
• Source: ESPN and Wildcat Blue Nation confirm the figures.
• Official Figures: On3 notes that actual NIL deal financials are private and undisclosed.

So between the 3 players I just mentioned we are paying them 7 million of the 22 million supposedly reported. I don't see it as a stretch because with 13 players to pay the remaining 15 million too.

 

[akaukswoosh]

 

[UKCowboys]

Again,, thats their market value,, still a guess.. Could be more could be less..

No way you can realistically get us to $22M, which is what half our fanbase has their panties in a wad about

 

[kywildcat1021979]

Of course he's going to support what's got a death grip on the program now.. What's he going to do talk **** and get no financial support.... That's where him being smart comes into play.

 

[UKCowboys]

And the thing about it is when JQ gets $2.3 million and I’m sure Oweh, Lowe and Aberdeen are at least $1.5-$2 million. I read Jasper Johnson’s was $1.43

JQ $2.3
Jasper $1.43
Oweh $2
Lowe $2
Aberdeen $2

That’s almost $10,000,000 on 5 players. It can easily get to the $22,000,000 that several reports have claimed. I don’t know why UKCowboy is acting like it’s impossible.

So you are PROJECTING $10M to your 5 best players(understanding you are listing 4 of them near top 5 numbers)....and think you easily get to $22M? PLEASE break town the $12M to your bench....please LMAO

 

[Supafuzz75]

No way you can realistically get us to $22M, which is what half our fanbase has their panties in a wad about

You see anywhere of me even talking about 22 mil? Not even talking about it right now or before this.. This is strictly about on3 nil valuation numbers you brought up that you think is exactly what players are getting paid.. Nobody knows,, its just a guess on them..

 

[UKCowboys]

You see anywhere of me even talking about 22 mil? Not even talking about it right now or before this.. This is strictly about on3 nil valuation numbers you brought up that you think is exactly what players are getting paid.. Nobody knows,, its just a guess on them..

Look st the number of folks on here talking about firing Pope over a $22M roster.

 

[CrimsonCats_rivals]

Those estimated values aren’t a very reliable guide to what guys are actually getting paid. For example, Dybansta is #1 on this list with an estimate of $4.1 million, but it was reported by reliable sources around the time of his commitment that he got $7 million.

It’s entirely possible we paid more than $1-2 million for a few of our guys to get to the $22 million figure, which I do believe to be accurate after the reporting over the past couple of days suggests that came from inside the program as some sort of flex. It definitely doesn’t give me much confidence on the staff’s ability to read the market with that being the case.

 

[Broker]

I really don't think our NIL is that high have said that since that number leaked out. Unless we are paying ever player on that team 2 million each including the deep end of the bench the math just dosent work.

Maybe the $22 Million includes all coaching salaries plus players NIL. That would make a lot more sense. No way in heck is this team demanding or getting $22Million. Maybe if all players were saying their full eligible time it may reach $22 Million. There is not a single person that can think, would pay that amount for this team's talent.

 

[Ukwazoo3]

This whole thing is being run as idiotically as the Bengals front office.

 

[CatFight333]

Adding your numbers up, it comes to $13.3M. So its your contention that UK could have had all 5 of those guys and still had $8.7M left for the bench? Cause thats what $22M is. Or do you think Reece Potter and Zach Tow are making high 6 figures lol?

You do realize those aren't "MY" numbers correct? If you understand how AI and Google work, I can ask the question and it pulls information from MULTIPLE sources on the interwebs and then compiles that to provide an answer. So argue with AI on the numbers. LMAO!

 

[BlueBlood96Cat]

If those numbers are correct it’s literally impossible that we spent that on our roster.

Hell if we bought every guy on that list for their price that’s only 13.5 million roughly. We have almost ten more million after getting every single one of those guys.

I get you can’t just buy them they have to commit but we could have gotten somebody right?

 

[Goingfor9]

If you’re gonna spend 22 mil spend it on a roster of max 10. The 10 best you can for 22. 2.2 mil on avg per player. I can’t believe that number leaked. Anyone heard any other schools nil spending ?

 

[KentuckyWildcats74]

You do realize those aren't "MY" numbers correct? If you understand how AI and Google work, I can ask the question and it pulls information from MULTIPLE sources on the interwebs and then compiles that to provide an answer. So argue with AI on the numbers. LMAO!

Well you can't believe everything AI tells you lol. That same AI tells me that Jayden Quaintance makes 1.9 million so that would make it even harder to get to that 22 million. The only way i can make that math work is if some of these players signed multi year deals then maybe I would buy it.

 

[Old Blue Fart]

After reading all these posts going back and forth about the amount of money spent, for a moment I thought I was reading over the minutes from my HOA meetings. My HOA has the same issue with money when it comes to getting what you pay for.

 

[KentuckyWildcats74]

Some guys are probably on multi year deals which were front loaded to take advantage of this years rules.

Bingo thats exactly what I am saying. I am not denying the 22, but I think it was for a multi year deal on some of these guys.

 

[RobEStacy]

Again. I don't think it's 22 mil just in NIL. It's most likely about 9 mil in Rev Share, and 13 mil in NIL. Media is just lumping it all together. And this number was inflated because returning players NIL deals where most likely front loaded, before The house settlement, and before NILGo and the $600 rule went into effect. The money that was left on the table might not have been nearly as much as people think, because we over spent on returning players.... This is where pope really needs a GM.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

I don’t care what was spent.

I don’t get the preoccupation with the NIL.

It doesn’t matter if it cost $1 mil or $30 mil.

The product is what it is.

I’m more concerned with how they play than with what they cost.

 

[CardFanVA]

Remember…this was a consensus Top 5 team w/ legitimate national title talent & depth. This was supposed to be a 10+ deep team. Pope had access to $22M via JMI and he decided to avg about $1.7M per scholarship player…not hard to believe…and why would he flex and leak that #…if it wasn’t true. The problem was this was done during the pre-season hype (esp after beating Purdue)…and it is not aging well now.

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

No one knows for sure, but it's almost certain this team's big earners are jq, oweh, Aberdeen, jj, garrison, moreno probably in that order.

Chandler is the wild card. You know he makes money but pure speculation he, mo, and kam are just below the above guys.