CBB Coaches Project $30M+ Rosters from NIL Contracts, 'That S--t Just Keeps Going Up'

The costs to field a competitive college basketball roster continue to rise, with The Athletic's Brendan Marks and CJ Moore reporting that those costs are believed average from about $11.5 million per team in the ACC to an $18 million per team in the SEC.

"Every year we're like, OK, this is the last year—and then that s--t just keeps going up," an SEC head coach said of roster budgets. "I do not think it's a sustainable model, but people keep paying for it."

"There has to be at least three or four teams (in our league) that are in the $30 million range," an SEC assistant added.

Much remains uncertain regarding the future of NIL and revenue sharing given that the Protect College Sports Act likely won't be voted on by the U.S. Senate before August's recess for Congress. The NCAA and the NIL landscape have remained in a bit of a Wild West state in recent years, with Congress deciding whether to codify caps on spending and transfer rules, among other considerations.