Rumors of 45% revenue share for Kentucky basketball debunked
What started as a firestorm of speculation on Monday fizzled out just as quickly.
CBS Sports reported that Kentucky’s men’s basketball program would receive 45% of the school’s revenue-sharing allotment with athletes — a figure that sent fans, message boards, and radio waves into a frenzy. The assumption? Kentucky basketball was taking the lion’s share, possibly at the expense of Mark Stoops’ football program.
Turns out, that 45% figure wasn’t just exaggerated — it was wrong.
According to a report from the Lexington Herald-Leader, multiple sources within Kentucky’s athletic department confirmed the number is inaccurate. The university has not disclosed an exact breakdown, and there’s a reason for that. As Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart explained in June, flexibility is key.
“What people want to do is get fixed numbers… but when you do that, it becomes really difficult to be flexible to whatever situation you may have in front of you,” Barnhart said.
In other words, Kentucky’s not tipping its hand.
That hasn’t stopped speculation. Some thought the 45% figure was a sign of a basketball-first strategy under Mark Pope. Others — less generously — floated the idea that it was a political maneuver to push Stoops out by starving football of NIL resources. Neither theory holds much water.
In fact, both Pope and Stoops are reportedly satisfied with how funds are being allocated. A source inside the administration told the Herald-Leader that both programs are being “invested in aggressively.”
Stoops echoed that sentiment at SEC Media Days, praising the new revenue-sharing system as a step toward equity and sustainability.
What’s clear is that Kentucky is operating within the $20.5 million cap imposed by the House settlement, using the maximum $2.5 million to cover new scholarships while splitting the remainder across all sports. Athletes can still earn separate NIL money through traditional endorsements.
So while the money talk isn’t going away anytime soon, the rumor that basketball is cashing 45% of the pie? That’s a myth — and now, officially, busted.