Money has become part of the roster conversation in college basketball, and Kansas is right in the thick of it.
CBS Sports writers Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter recently laid out what it costs to build a college basketball roster in 2026, and the numbers are steep. Across 79 Power Five programs plus Gonzaga, the average NIL spend came in at $13.5 million. The Big 12, meanwhile, checked in at $12.7 million, just behind the SEC at $17.3M, the Big East at $13.6M, and tied with the Big Ten at $12.7 million.
CBS split those roster-spending estimates into seven tiers, and the Jayhawks landed in Tier 2, which covers teams spending just under $20 million. That group also includes Arkansas, Indiana, and UConn.
Tier 1 is reserved for programs at $20 million or more, with schools such as Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Louisville, Tennessee, Texas Tech, St. John’s, Michigan, and Florida.
Kansas, though, is described as being almost right on the doorstep of that top tier. The report says the Jayhawks could cross into Tier 1 later this season if Trey Kaufman-Renn is on the roster and 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 price tag fits the way this Kansas roster is built. The Jayhawks do not appear to be loaded with future NBA talent beyond Stokes, and none of the transfers they added were ranked inside the top 50 in 247Sports’ 2026 transfer player rankings. Still, the overall group has the look of a team with serious depth.
And depth, in this era, doesn’t come cheap.
Kansas is paying to chase wins, and that’s exactly the expectation around this team.
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