Kentucky reportedly dedicating almost half its revenue-sharing budget to men's basketball

kentucky-reportedly-dedicating-almost-half-its-revenue-sharing-to-mens-basketball — Kentucky Basketball coach Mark Pope alongside athletic director Mitch Barnhart at his introductory press conference - © Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mitch Barnhart has not disclosed how Kentucky will split up its $20.5 million of revenue-sharing across all sports for the 2025-26 season; according to a new report, men’s basketball will be getting a significant piece of the pie, maybe even triple that of its SEC counterparts.

Matt Norlander spent last week at the Peach Jam speaking to coaches about how revenue-sharing has changed their approach to recruiting. The article is a great deep dive into the uncertainties facing college sports right now, but the part that will be of most interest to you is what Norlander heard regarding Kentucky. Norlander said Kentucky is believed to be dedicating 45% of its $20.5 million cap for the 2025-26 season on men’s basketball. If you do the math, that’s $9.225 million, compared to the $3 million most SEC teams are giving to men’s basketball.

The consternation stems from most SEC teams operating below $3 million in revenue sharing for the upcoming year, according to a variety of sources. One expected exception is basketball-crazed Kentucky, which is believed to be at a 45% rev share of its $20.5 million cap for 2025-26. There was talk of all SEC programs agreeing to an equal rev-share cap, but similar to the Big East situation, if Kentucky wants to put more emphasis on its basketball program (and sacrifice for less on the football side) than the likes of Alabama, Auburn or Tennessee, that’s Kentucky’s prerogative.
Matt Norlander, CBS Sports

UPDATE

I am told that the report today about Basketball getting significantly
More NIL at Kentucky than at other schools is not true (to the degree stated)

I am told the football folks feel the Rev-share level for UK FB is very competitive with rest of SEC
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) July 22, 2025

Most schools are expected to follow the House Settlement’s model for backpaying players, which is approximately 75% of the cap for football ($15.37 million), 15% for men’s basketball ($3.08 million), 5% for women’s basketball ($1.03 million), and 5% to other sports ($1.03 million). Obviously, 45% ($9.225 million) is a much larger amount than 15% ($3.08 million). That would leave just $11.275 million for football, women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball, and all the other sports at UK.

Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning

By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.

Part of the reason Barnhart has declined to give specific figures is that he wants the budget to be flexible each year to help sports that may need a little more money than others that season due to roster needs; however, football is still the breadwinner, even at Kentucky. Giving men’s basketball 45% of the budget is a pretty bold move, especially in the SEC, where schools aren’t thinking twice about putting football first, and by a considerable margin. Even in the Big East, which doesn’t have to worry about football, that’s a big number. That’s just one reason why UK Athletics moved to Champions Blue LLC to give the department more flexibility to grow additional revenue streams.

All of this talk comes after rumors that Kentucky spent $20 million on its 2025-26 basketball roster before the House Settlement went into effect on July 1. We’ve heard that number was greatly exaggerated, so maybe this percentage was too among the coaches talking at the Peach Jam. Regardless, it’s clear that Kentucky is making sure men’s basketball remains a priority moving forward, even if at the expense of football.