March Madness is finally here, and the battle to be crowned the best college team in the nation is set to commence.
Ahead of the tournament, college basketball insider Connor Hale compiled a list of teams with the most expensive rosters by NIL valuation. Hale’s list shows just how much teams have been willing to spend to build a successful roster.
- #7 Kentucky: $20 million
- #6 BYU: $13 million
- #1 Duke: $12 million
- #4 Arkansas: $11.5 million
- #6 Louisville: $10.5 million
- #4 Texas Tech: $10.5 million
- #5 St. John’s: $10.5 million
- #1 Michigan: $10.5 million
- #4 Kansas: $9.5 million
- #6 Tennessee: $9.5 million
- #1 Arizona: $9.5 million
Kentucky, which reportedly spent $20 million on its roster this season, is only seeded No. 7 for the tournament. The team that may have been doing its spending right is Duke, which is not only a No. 1 seed for the tournament, but is also the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Top 25 coming into March Madness.
College Basketball NIL Spending Has Surged During the 2025-26 Season
As for overall NIL spending by schools for college basketball, it has only gone up. During the first year of NIL, in 2021, schools spent an estimated $314.4 million on NIL products and services for college basketball, but by 2026, that figure had increased exponentially, according to a study by Opendorse.
For this year, schools spent an estimated $932.5 million on NIL products and services for college basketball. This encompasses both men’s and women’s basketball, and the biggest factor for this surge is that revenue-sharing has been added for the first time.
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