Sources: Reported revenue sharing split for UK basketball and football not accurate
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UK denies reports of men's basketball receiving 45% revenue share
- Football and basketball programs receive priority investment under new model
Since the advent of revenue sharing with athletes on July 1, the breakdown of how each NCAA athletic department is splitting up the $20.5 million it is allowed to share with athletes has been treated as a closely guarded secret at many programs.
Kentucky has stuck to that script, declining to offer specifics about how much of that money is going to football, men’s basketball and other sports other than to confirm that it is using the maximum $2.5 million within that cap to account for added scholarships across the department.
When the House settlement was first approved, paving the way for revenue sharing, the expectation was most Power Four programs would distribute around 75% of the available money to football, 15% to men’s basketball, 5% for women’s basketball and 5% for other sports, reflecting the formula used in the settlement to determine how the $2.8 billion in damages to athletes who competed since 2016 would be paid. However, since Kentucky’s men’s basketball program is among the most profitable in the country, the assumption has been that it would receive a greater portion of revenue sharing money than at most other schools.
“I think what people want to do is they want to get fixed numbers, and they want to say, ‘This is it,” UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart said after the school’s June athletics committee meeting. “They draw hard lines. When you do that, it becomes really difficult for you to be flexible to whatever situation you may have in front of you. So we’re going to be flexible to that, and we’re going to be looking at different ways that we can help each of our teams and and we’ll get to a spot, and coaches will know. And the good news is, our rosters are set right now.”
CBS Sports reported Monday that Kentucky’s men’s basketball team had received 45% of the revenue sharing money for 2025-26, but multiple sources within the athletic department, from both the football and men’s basketball programs, confirmed to the Herald-Leader later in the day that number was not accurate.
A source within the athletic department administration did not provide a specific breakdown of the percentages of money allocated to each team but stressed both men’s basketball and football were being invested in aggressively and that basketball coach Mark Pope and football coach Mark Stoops were pleased with the investment.
Stoops seemed to echo that sentiment last week at SEC Media Days when asked about UK’s revenue sharing operation.
“It excites me, because hopefully, it’ll level the playing field, and not just the people with excess NIL funds,” Stoops said. “So, that excites me. And I think the proof is in the pudding this summer (with recruiting). I just like the approach. I like the way the recruiting has gone, in the communication, the discussions with student-athletes and trying to stay within that framework.”
Athletes are still also able to earn additional name, image and likeness endorsement money through deals negotiated with outside entities in addition to money received directly from the athletic department through revenue sharing. Any NIL deal greater than $600 must be approved by the NIL Go clearinghouse to confirm it is for a legitimate business purpose.
NIL deals executed before the House settlement went into effect on July 1 for the 2025-26 rosters were not subject to the $20.5 million revenue sharing cap.
This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 9:46 PM.