Mark Pope on Kentucky’s Roster, Rev-Share: ‘We’ve Got a Beautiful Ferrari and We Can’t Wait to Take It for a Spin’

Coming into this season, Kentucky was thought to have spent more on its men’s basketball roster than any other school, with some estimates upward of $20 million. It’s wise not to read too much into those numbers, but there’s no question that Kentucky has set up the men’s basketball program for success moving forward, to the point that Mark Pope feels like he’s driving a shiny new sports car.

At Kentucky Basketball Media Day, Pope said he and his staff are still trying to navigate the revenue-sharing era, but given his current squad and the plans for the future, he is confident Kentucky is in a good spot. Like, a beautiful Ferrari-type of good spot.

“We’re really trying to figure that out. It’s really complicated. Again, for the fourth straight year, we’re in here saying everything has changed. And so again, for this coming cycle, we’re working under a totally, like, first-time-ever set of rules and standards. And working off a cap is just something that’s so new, right? And so, we’re modeling every single day, and it’s complicated. There are all kinds of dynamics about how to do that.

“I do know that for us right now, we’re so excited about this team that we have right now, that our number one focus is there, and then all this stuff about next year and how that works. We’re going to deal with that when next year comes. But right now, we feel like we’ve got a beautiful Ferrari, and we can’t wait to take it for a spin.”

Of course, with all of UK’s official partners and the new partnership with JMI to negotiate NIL deals between players and said official partners, Pope caught himself.

“Am I allowed to say that?” Pope said of mentioning Ferrari. “Do we have endorsement deals that are gonna? Choose your pick [of car].”

If you need a revenue-sharing refresher, starting this school year, schools can spend $20.6 million on revenue-sharing across all sports; that figure will increase by 4% annually. 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). Kentucky is splitting its rev-share budget between six sports: football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball. We don’t know specific percentages, but UK is giving men’s basketball a MUCH larger share than its SEC counterparts, 45% according to some reports. Thanks to the new deal with JMI, coming up with the money isn’t currently an issue, one reason Pope feels so confident.

Pope’s quote is especially timely. The current team’s NIL deals were in place before the House Settlement went into effect on July 1, meaning next year’s roster will be the first to feel the true effects of revenue-sharing. Kentucky has yet to land a commitment in the 2026 class, but that could change very soon. Several high-profile recruits are taking official visits to Kentucky this week, including five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr., who is currently on campus, four-star center Ethan Taylor, four-star center Josh Irving, and five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. There are also rumors that five-star guard Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the class, could announce his commitment this week, and Kentucky is in a very good position, one of five finalists (read the latest intel from Joe Tipton here).

I doubt it’s a coincidence that Pope dropped the Ferrari line, knowing who could be listening. Even more reason to get excited about a big basketball week.

Want more Kentucky basketball recruiting intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.