Taking a look at the top two NCAA men's basketball teams

Is the traditional feel of college sports, based on long-term team building, gone at the top levels?

Has Division I sports simply become a money-driven semi-pro system that devalues the traditional, local school legacies?

For those who valued the amateur, school-centric traditions, the “better” days of DI ball might be in the past.

The National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I sports landscape has changed.

A lot of the Divison I basketball players on the top teams, for example, were imported foreign players this season- signed through what’s called the transfer portal - and many were older players than what you might consider usual for college kids.

There is nothing stopping college players these days from changing schools every year. If the compensation is considered better elsewhere, the players might transfer.

For the 2025-26 season, The University of Michigan’s men’s basketball roster received an estimated total of at least $10 million in combined compensation on its way to winning the NCAA Division I national championship.

This figure included payments from NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) collectives and the first year of direct revenue-sharing payments from the university itself following the House v. NCAA lawsuit settlement. 

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan’s star forward, received a total NIL package valued between $2.3 million and $3 million. Lendenborg was reported as one of the highest-paid players in college basketball after transferring from UAB.

Morez Johnson Jr., the transfer forward from Illinois, reportedly received an NIL package worth about $2 million for the season.

Another Michigan player, Aday Mara, was identified as a key contributor to the team’s success and was also part of the high-spending roster strategy. 

The Michigan team was one of several “super teams” with a roster value exceeding $10 million in payroll, joining programs like Duke, Texas and Arkansas, it was reported.

Under the new revenue sharing model, Michigan’s athletic department was eligible to distribute up to $20.5 million across all sports this year, with men’s basketball estimated to receive a portion of about $3.09 million.

Michigan players earned significant extra compensation through the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas - $1 million total just for participating and an additional $1 million bonus for winning the championship. 

While Michigan head coach Dusty May heavily utilized the transfer portal to build his national championship-winning roster, the team featured a mix of new transfers, returning veterans and freshmen, it was reported.

Although the Michigan starting lineup for the 2025–26 season consisted entirely of players who had transferred into the program at some point, only four of them were new additions this season. The team, which beat UConn to win the 2025-2026 NCAA National Championship, was the first in history to win a title with an all-transfer starting lineup. 

For the 2025–26 season, the UConn men’s basketball program operated within a significant financial framework following recent NCAA legal settlements that allow direct payments to athletes.

While exact individual salaries were not publicly disclosed, the UConn athletic department reported a total roster spending pool this year of about $20 million for all athletes. 

The overall budget for UConn’s roster compensation (including revenue sharing and NIL) was estimated at between $8 million and $10 million for the men’s basketball team.

Under the House v. NCAA revenue sharing settlement, UConn could pay athletes directly up to an annual cap of $20.5 million across all sports.

Big East schools like UConn were estimated to allocate an average of $5.7 million per team specifically for revenue sharing, separate from third-party NIL deals this basketball season.

Individual UConn players earned additional income through Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) sponsorships, just as Michigan players did. 

Braylon Mullins, the freshman star for UConn, saw his market value surge following his game-winning shot against Duke.

Mullins has recently signed major deals with brands like Raising Cane’s, Greenies and Olipop.

Alex Karaban, a veteran leader on the UConn team this season, was among the team’s top earners, though his specific 2026 valuation remains private, it was reported.

While UConn stars earned significant amounts this season, they were said to be below the national highs seen by players like BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, who has a valuation of $4.1 million.

The three streams of revenue for college players are listed below: 

*Revenue Sharing: Direct payments from the college, serving as a “salary” for the first time this season.

*NIL Collectives: Funds from booster-led groups that facilitate marketing deals for players on the roster.

*Commercial Endorsements: Private deals that players in to with national brands (e.g., video games, apparel, fast food).

Many sports analysts are already predicting that something has to give - that the current landscape of paying high prices for college athletes cannot be sustained very long.

Some say it won’t be long until the colleges start asking for financial support from the cities and states that the colleges are located in.

Some also predict that colleges will soon be asking their state governments to make payments to the college athletes tax-free.               David Powls