NIL Spend by Team

[Spirit Of James]

Interesting investigation done by CBS Sports.  MU is in the 'Tier 4' of NIL spending ($12.1-$15M range).

"This neck of the woods is also where you find a hefty chunk of Big East teams -- Marquette, Georgetown, Creighton, Xavier, Providence, Villanova -- who can use plenty of revenue-sharing dollars to build rosters because they don't have football. (PC would have been in Tier 3 had Dink Pate been eligible.) The hope is that much-improved money can help shore up the middle class of the Big East that has been very pedestrian of late."  Link:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/nil-roster-spending-value-tiers-ncaa-hoops-2026-27-season/

[tower912]

Counting down to JB's apoplexy without data to contradict.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Counting down to JB's apoplexy without data to contradict.

Nothing in this article is verifiable.  It's just a bunch of vague numbers based on the blind trust of anonymous sources.

Journalism used to have a higher standard for reporting.  It's become way to reliant on anonymous sources.

[Uncle Rico]

Nothing in this article is verifiable.  It's just a bunch of vague numbers based on the blind trust of anonymous sources.

Journalism used to have a higher standard for reporting.  It's become way to reliant on anonymous sources.

I trust Norlander's reporting

[tower912]

To the 2 posters who dm'd me back in February that they had on good authority that MU would be working with a $15m-ish budget...well done.  Having that has made the offseason moves much more logical.

[Jay Bee]

It's nonsensical b.s.

Absolutely stupid and fake.

[Uncle Rico]

It's nonsensical b.s.

Absolutely stupid and fake.

It isn't.

[Johnny B]

It's nonsensical b.s.

Absolutely stupid and fake.

Maybe ? Maybe not

[Uncle Rico]

Maybe ? Maybe not

Matt Norlander is very good at what he does and more connected than JB. 

[MU82]

This is ridiculous. There is no money at all involved. These freckle-faced young lads play only for the love of the game, for the honor of representing their universities, and for the fine educations they receive.

And that's doubly the case at Marquette.

[Scoop Snoop]

Ben might have been "freckled faced". Who else are you referring to? 

JB has declared the NIL story as "nonsensical b.s." as well as "absolutely stupid and fake", so that settles it.

[tower912]

Ben might have been "freckled faced". Who else are you referring to? 

JB has declared the NIL story as "nonsensical b.s." as well as "absolutely stupid and fake", so that settles it.

Exactly.  It must be true.

[79Warrior]

To the 2 posters who dm'd me back in February that they had on good authority that MU would be working with a $15m-ish budget...well done.  Having that has made the offseason moves much more logical.

Looking forward to seeing what the $15m-ish spend looks like on the court this season.

[mu_hilltopper]

Everything is going to be unimaginably worse and is never going to get any better.

[NCMUFan]

Maybe ? Maybe not

Now this is an honest statement.

[NCMUFan]

So, would be interesting to see NIL Spent vs Record to see what programs are having the most success per dollar spent.

[Jay Bee]

So, would be interesting to see NIL Spent vs Record to see what programs are having the most success per dollar spent.

Unfortunately, we don't have NIL Spent figures.

[1SE]

"The Purdue Way might be impossible to replicate. Marquette certainly tried to emulate the homegrown talent approach, but that turned sour in a hurry in 2025-26"

Credit for trying!

[MU82]

One of Purdue's best players last season was a transfer (Oscar Cluff), though most of the roster was "home grown."

One of Purdue's best players in 2023-24 was a transfer (Lance Jones), though most of the roster was "home grown."

I'm guessing that two of Marquette's best players this season will be transfers (Sananda Fru, Nolan Minessale), though most of the roster is "home grown."

[WhiteTrash]

Nothing in this article is verifiable.  It's just a bunch of vague numbers based on the blind trust of anonymous sources.

Journalism used to have a higher standard for reporting.  It's become way to reliant on anonymous sources.

Right?

The crackpot "journalists" Woodward and Bernstein relied on an anonymous source, and we know how that turned out.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Right?

The crackpot "journalists" Woodward and Bernstein relied on an anonymous source, and we know how that turned out.

That's an example of the proper time to use anonymous sources.  When the information is extremely important to national security and the source's safety is at risk, then by all means use anonymous sources.

I don't think the money college athletes receive deserves such discretion.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

That's an example of the proper time to use anonymous sources.  When the information is extremely important to national security and the source's safety is at risk, then by all means use anonymous sources.

I don't think the money college athletes receive deserves such discretion.

Every company i know, and I'm incliding university athletic departments,  has a policy that bans employees from speaking to the media without approval and training. So if you want your news to be public relations, then not using anonymous sources is a great idea.

People's lives may not be at risk but often their careers are.

[Captain Quette]

Via a source at Xavier, I can confirm they are in the 12 to 15 range. This info in the article seems on point to me.

[muwarrior69]

One of Purdue's best players last season was a transfer (Oscar Cluff), though most of the roster was "home grown."

One of Purdue's best players in 2023-24 was a transfer (Lance Jones), though most of the roster was "home grown."

I'm guessing that two of Marquette's best players this season will be transfers (Sananda Fru, Nolan Minessale), though most of the roster is "home grown."

How can Nash Walker be "home grown" when he is from Australia? 

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Every company i know, and I'm incliding university athletic departments,  has a policy that bans employees from speaking to the media without approval and training. So if you want your news to be public relations, then not using anonymous sources is a great idea.

People's lives may not be at risk but often their careers are.

Yes, I'm well aware of this since I used to work in TV news.  That's also why I know of many cases where anonymous sources and off the record sources are often the starting point in investigative journalism.

The journalist should look for confirmation in most of these cases, not just report vague and anonymous information.  Either get people on the record or find documentation to back up these claims.

Otherwise, you are letting your anonymous sources dictate the narrative without actually proving they are telling the truth.  Agents are incentivized to overinflate the numbers in order to look good to future client, while schools have to walk the fine line of appearing financially competitive in order to land future players, but without wasteful overspending that makes them look like underachievers.  They also have to avoid hurting their future fundraising efforts, so they have be careful to not look like they have too much money.  They can't cry poor if donors know the truth!

The Norlander report has absolutely no corroborating evidence for these anonymous sources.  It relies strictly on blind trust. Teams are grouped in ranges that vaguely tell the reader how much these teams might be spending, but stops short of assigning specific values to specific teams.  The article fails to name specific compensation for any player by name. 

The whole thing is shrouded in mystery.  That is exactly what the power brokers want.  Nobody wants transparency, they only want their highly controlled narratives to be presented as unquestioned fact.  A journalist's job is to unveil the truth, not act as a PR extension for the parties whom benefit from this mysterious environment.  Overall, Norlander's article is an incomplete story and for that, it is a journalistic failure.