Bill Self disputes figures that have been reported regarding KU Jayhawks’ NIL money
Kansas’ basketball program does not have as much NIL money available as reported recently in some outlets, coach Bill Self said at Thursday’s season-ending hoops banquet at Burge Union on the KU campus.
“It’s a different world. What you read in NIL and stuff like that is so full of crap,” Self said. “People actually believe that we have $7.1 million in NIL. That was reported the other day. If we had had $7.1 million in NIL we would have (Kevin) Durant and LeBron (James) suiting up for us.
“I read something the other day that people said we had $4.1 or $4.2, whatever it was, million dollars in NIL. I wish. If we had that we would have the exact same thing as what I said with LeBron and Durant,” Self added.
A 247Sports.com report this week said “Kansas topped the NIL payroll numbers this season, spending more than $4 million in men’s basketball NIL money.” It was unclear the source of the $7.1 million figure Self brought up.
“We have a good (NIL) program. We have so many generous people that have bent over backwards to make sure we’re competitive. But guys, cut those numbers in half,” Self said.
He told the crowd, which included several hundred KU fans, including many boosters: “This is a time we need you to support KU and we need you to support our men’s basketball program through that method, too. If you are doing it, we appreciate it so much.
“If you aren’t doing it and are interested, we definitely need all the help we can possibly get.”
Self said NIL money is vital in keeping up with other teams in the future.
“It’s going to be hard in the future, looking forward, to be able to have players that are in your programs three and four years,” Self said. “You guys (banquet goers) all understand why. Because you play at a place for a year and you do a decent job, somebody is going to pay you more money to come to their school.
“That’s the way it works in today’s world. NIL in theory is good. It’s also the way (of) the world that’s not so good too, just be very candid with you. If we want to play with the big boys, then we’ve got to play the game and we have to participate. We need your help to do so and it is appreciated. But that is a key component in our success moving forward.”
