How Much Did UConn, Michigan Reportedly Spend on Rosters That Reached 2026 March Madness Title Game?

Neither UConn nor Michigan had the biggest NIL bill in men's basketball this season, but both spent into the millions in order to build their rosters.

On3's Pete Nakos reported Monday the Wolverines are "well over the $10 million mark," while the Huskies are "in the $8 to $10 million range."

NIL budgets aren't directly correlated to a team's performance.

A lot of fans are all too ready to remind Kentucky coach Mark Pope he failed to advance a group that cost a reported $22 million past the second round of the NCAA tournament. BYU star AJ Dybantsa alone secured deals reportedly worth $7 million, yet he couldn't get the Cougars out of the first round.

NIL is basically no different than paying free agents or handing out extensions in pro sports. There's generally a correlation between a team's spending and its performance, but there are always going to be outliers. Big spenders can flop in the postseason, while franchises with mid-size or threadbare budgets can make a deep run.

Traditional recruiting is the same way. Not all 5-star prospects deliver, and unheralded stars emerge every single year.

The biggest key is investing in the right talent.

Michigan coach Dusty May clearly did that with Yaxel Lendeborg.

Lendeborg could've gone from UAB straight to the NBA. Coming out of the combine, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected him to go 26th in the 2025 draft.

The 6'9" forward instead followed through on his move to the Wolverines, much to his and his team's benefit.

UConn coach Dan Hurley managed to retain Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr., and the pair of Silas Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith have made a positive impact out of the portal.

May and Hurley didn't utilize the portal to totally transform their squads, nor did they devote the bulk of their resources toward one player in the way BYU did with Dybantsa. Still, their success is an example of how the transfer portal and NIL are important ingredients toward assembling a possible championship winner.