It has been 11 years since Kentucky made a Final Four appearance. They came close this past season with a roster Mark Pope had to build from scratch, but with a new season and another try, the head coach is aiming for bigger success with a key ingredient. You see, when Pope arrived in Lexington last year, he received a massive welcome. No, we aren’t talking about the Rupp Arena mania where the arena filled to the brink. We are talking about the $4 million pledge the new head coach had received in NIL for recruitment.

After John Calipari had left with his squad, that was essential, and Pope put it to good use, bringing in nine new faces in about a month’s time. They made it to the Sweet 16, and the coach was erased of his ‘not-so-fine-recruiter’ reputation. “The most important thing we do is probably raising NIL money,” said Pope in his final season with BYU. “That’s just the job that’s been created for us in the last couple of years. I think that’s probably the most important thing we do.” And by the looks of it, the coach has been strategically awarded plenty for this season in Kentucky.

They seem to have a penchant for spreading the wealth instead of going all in with one or two big names. The program distributed its NIL across its roster. For instance, Denzel Aberdeen, who is one of the newest additions, is rumored to have received around $2 million, and he wasn’t even the biggest name the Wildcats pursued. And so basketball analyst, Jeff Goodman, took to X to make a revelation and wrote:

“I’m not sure anyone is gonna touch Kentucky’s NIL payroll this season … not even BYU.” That’s a huge claim, but it doesn’t end there. On Saturday, Goodman said, “Kentucky’s got a lot more money right now than Florida. They might be No. 1 honestly, at upwards of $12 million in NIL payroll.”

As per reports, BYU had offered AJ Dybantsa over $5 million for a base deal and an additional $2 million through NIL deals. While that’s their strategy, the Wildcats are choosing the philosophy of shared success, which has made fans skeptical. Regardless, Kentucky did see an impressive tally. In a report by CBS Sports, the Big Blue Nation program was named one of the “golden” tier programs after hitting the $10 million club. Duke, Arkansas, BYU, and several others were listed as well.

For the 2025-26 season, the Wildcats’ coach had to see six of his key players lose eligibility– Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, Amari Williams, Kobe Brea, and Ansley Almonor. This means Pope has all those spots to fill, and he has already landed five of them. Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen was the most recent one, joining Mouhamed Dioubate from Alabama, Tulane’s Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe from Pittsburgh, and Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State.

The coach has also landed two 5-star recruits in guard Jasper Johnson and McDonald’s All-American center Malachi Moreno. The staff is also reportedly aiming for Auburn’s Chad Baker Mazara. A solid-looking roster? Well, here comes another side. Fans do not seem to think so. As much as Pope was applauded for making Lexington a top-transfer portal destination, not everyone is on board.

Mark Pope’s strategy is under the fans’ evaluation!

Anyone’s eyes will pop up with a $10+ million NIL budget. Programs have suffered due to the lack of it. Bruce Pearl, for one, reportedly had to let Baker Mazara go due to an insufficient NIL offering. But when Kentucky has that concern cancelled out, fans believe that Pope and staff aren’t making good use of it. “We call this a bad ROI,” one fan commented.

The highest scorer on the Wildcats roster, Otega Oweh, averaged 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds last season. No one else could surpass the 13-point mark. Moreover, the team suffered defensively throughout the season, despite the HC often noting how they needed to focus more on the aspect. After finishing the season in a 78-65 loss to Tennessee, fans aren’t being kind. “I mean even their roster is not all that great,” opined another social media user.

“If they’re spending significantly more than any other program and that’s their roster…. That’s pretty embarrassing for Mark Pope,” another vented. Another reason his recruitment is in question is the fact that he lost Acaden Lewis, his top-30 recruit. Then, San Diego State’s big man Magoon Gwath, who seemed like a done deal, withdrew, and it was soon followed by Lamar Wilkerson choosing Indiana over Kentucky. The irony here is pretty striking– “I didn’t want to go to Kentucky and just be another guy,” Wilkerson had said, speaking of the Wildcats’ stacked roster. But looks like fans aren’t on the same page.

“I’ve never seen so many 7-10ppg players getting rich in my life,” another asserted. Though Mark Pope will be watching six of his players move on, he has successfully retained the rest from his previous roster– Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah, and Travis Perry. While that screams stability, none had managed to average 10 points. That hasn’t gotten much better with the new transfers. Only Lowe is averaging 16 points while the rest float between 7-10.

“Overpaying average players does not equal good process lol,” another voiced. Well, fans have shared their thoughts. It will now be interesting to see if Pope’s strategy works. What do you think?