Look, I'm not going to be the one to complain about Kentucky succeeding on the NIL front. For the most part, Mark Pope has done a solid job recruiting in the money-first modern age, and in the case of Milan Momcilovic specifically, I'm thrilled that the Cats won that race. The dude is the best three-point shooter in the nation, how couldn't I be?
But, at the same time, the finances are truly getting out of hand. On3 just released the top 10 NIL valuations across all of college athletics, and coming all the way in at No. 2 is none other than Momcilovic.
According to On3's list, it took a final paycheck in the $6 million range to reel the wing scorer to Lexington. This number is similar to that of Flory Bidunga's down the road in Louisville, and just short of what Darian Mensah got to play quarterback at Miami.
NEW: Top 10 On3 NIL Valuations in College Sports💰https://t.co/UvYa8usnp8 pic.twitter.com/G9rXzBKGTq
— On3 (@On3) July 14, 2026
I know that Momcilovic's fit with Kentucky makes a ton of sense on paper; he himself has even credited Coach Pope's fire-at-will offense as a primary reason for opting for the blue and white. But even given Kentucky's win in this scenario, the list of metrics at hand represents a true point of no return for college athletics.
College Athletics Has Hit a Point of No Return
Just one season ago, Kentucky's reported budget of more than $20 million was widely seen as overspending from other bubbles around the college basketball world. Now, barely a full year later, Texas head coach Sean Miller went on record to estimate that as many as 20 or 25 teams have spent that much, if not more.
What was momentarily seen as a reach from one of the biggest brands in college hoops became, in essentially no time at all, a basic method of survival for any and every team in the national mix. What's worse, I don't se any reason for us to expect this to improve from here on out,.
NIL's stratospheric rise reminds me of the transfer portal's mainstream introduction just a few years prior. I remember how odd it felt for Coach Calipari to go out and geet Davion Mintz ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Only the Beginning of NIL
The guy came from Creighton after four years and, all the sudden, was a major contributor in the SEC. Of course, that was only the beginning - Kentucky fans know more than most other fanbases what it's like to have an entire team built out of the transfer portal.
Just as that change came and never went, NIL is only just beginning to change the landscape of college sports. I'm amped to see what Momcilovic accomplishes at Rupp Arena this season, and I'm glad that we have a coach willing to stay on the cutting edge of these trends.
But on the other side of that coin, I do miss loyalty for the sake of loyalty alone, and I'm afraid we may be on the brink of losing that forever on the college level.
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