Kentucky boosters donate $4 million for NIL following Mark Pope hire

The Mark Pope era of Kentucky basketball is starting with some major NIL backing.

According to Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones, two donors have combined to make a $4 million donation to the Wildcats’ NIL efforts. News broke late Thursday night of Kentucky closing in on hiring Pope, the BYU head coach and former Kentucky player.

The Wildcats have yet to name him their next head coach officially, but barring something unforeseen, Pope is expected to sign a five-year deal at an average of $5.5 million annually. The $4 million NIL infusion is a crucial way to kickstart recruiting efforts.

“The brand is real,” Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart said Friday on KSR. “And it is really, really important and we’ve got to effectively use it and we use it. We combined some things in recruiting with the tenacity in recruiting, the staff in recruiting, the brand that we have and then the NIL space and we’ve got some people that have already stepped up over the last 24 hours. We’ve had several donors who have stepped up to put over $4 million in our NIL portfolio for Coach to work with to get started. … I can confirm that’s true.”

NIL dollars factored into John Calipari‘s decision to leave the Bluegrass State. A source told On3 earlier this week that Calipari will have “at least” $5 million annually in NIL funds to disperse at Arkansas. The same source estimated the budget will be in the $6 million ballpark.

Typical top 30 school’s budgets range from $1 to $4 million. The $4 million donation gives Pope a strong foundation to work with.

NIL has become an increasingly large talking point during contract negotiations at top college football and basketball openings. While revenue sharing and employment models could be on the horizon, they haven’t arrived yet. Meaning for the time being, dating back to the summer of 2021, the programs that can offer top dollar are attracting the top talent.

“It’s almost a mindset,” college football super-agent Trace Armstrong previously told On3. “If people are willing to do the things it takes to win, NIL’s going to be a factor. You just added another area that people will evaluate. Leadership, facilities, commitment to sport… It’s definitely another box to check.”

Having NIL dollars is crucial. The most valuable positions in the basketball transfer portal – where most NIL dollars are used these days – are power forwards and centers. For high-end talent at those positions, $1 million deals are commonplace.

Even top guards are making roughly half a million a year. Speaking with sources over the last week, On3’s learned of a conference player of the year transfer earning $500,000. Another guard is set to make $450,000. Helping a college basketball program get back to relevancy is imperative for bluebloods.

“Supply and demand and the impact one player can have in their sport versus football,” an NIL collective executive recently told On3. “The price per player on average is close to double the football average.”