Kentucky to spend 45 percent of rev share on basketball

By Chris Marler

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, revealed that Kentucky is reportedly going to invest nearly half its $20.5 million revenue sharing budget on basketball.

This might not come as a big surprise, considering how important basketball is in the Bluegrass State and how impatient the fanbase had become by the end of the John Calipari era in Lexington.

Norlander shed light on growing frustration across the SEC regarding uneven revenue sharing, especially when it comes to Kentucky’s approach:

“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.”

The expected percentage number that most SEC and P4 teams were going to allocate for basketball was around 15 percent or roughly $3 million.

The reasoning behind this move could be a number of things. Most notably, the fact that in-state arch rival Louisville has been very vocal about investing upwards of $10 million on this year’s basketball roster alone. However, what’s not been made clear is how it will impact other sports. 

Lexington’s football facilities got a facelift within the last five years, and head coach Mark Stoops recently signed an extension through 2030 worth more than $9 million per year. Both moves were made to keep pace in the on-going SEC football arms race. But if Norlander’s report is accurate, keeping up with the rest of the conference on the football front could soon become a serious challenge.