Kansas basketball is sitting right on the edge of college hoops’ top spending tier.
CBS Sports writers Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter recently broke down the average NIL cost of building a roster for the 2026 season, and Kansas landed in Tier 2, alongside Arkansas, Indiana, and UConn. The Jayhawks are listed just below the $20 million line, which puts them as close to Tier 1 as possible without actually being in it.
Across the 79 Power Five programs and Gonzaga, the average NIL roster cost came out to $13.5 million. The Big 12 checked in at $12.7 million, which ranked fourth among conferences behind the SEC ($17.3M), the Big East ($13.6M), and the Big Ten ($12.7M).
CBS Sports divided the spending estimates into seven tiers, with Tier 1 reserved for programs spending $20 million or more. That group includes Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Louisville, Tennessee, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Michigan, and Florida.
Kansas is right behind that group, and the report says the Jayhawks could push into Tier 1 later in the season if Trey Kaufman-Renn, Tre White, and Melvin Council Jr. are eligible for the full year.
“If Kansas is able to roster Trey Kaufman-Renn AND the Jayhawks get Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. eligible for the entire season, our information suggests KU would hit $20 million later this season, but as of this story's publication, the Jayhawks are an eyelash away and literally as close to Tier 1 as possible. (Kansas also boasts the most expensive freshman in college basketball, No. 1 prospect Tyran Stokes).”
That pricing lines up with the way this roster is built. Kansas doesn’t appear loaded with a ton of projected future NBA talent beyond Stokes, and the transfers it added are quality pieces, but none of them were ranked inside the top 50 in 247Sports’ 2026 transfer player rankings.
What Kansas does have is depth, and plenty of it. That kind of roster comes with a price tag, and the Jayhawks are paying it with the expectation that it translates into wins.
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