The Kansas basketball team may not have made it as far as fans hoped in the NCAA Tournament, but the program is still sitting pretty when it comes to value. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, the Jayhawks rank as the 11th-most valuable college basketball program in the country. The Jayhawks come in with an estimated enterprise value of $191 million, which is not too shabby.
To clarify before anyone starts panicking, that number is not bad at all. It just means Kansas is behind ten other schools in total program worth. The top three include North Carolina at $378 million, Duke at $370 million, and Indiana at $279 million. Kansas also trails other big names like Arkansas, Louisville, and Kentucky. The only other Big 12 team ahead of them is Arizona, which ranks sixth overall at $257 million.
College basketball’s most valuable teams (WSJ)
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) April 8, 2025
1 UNC $378M
2 Duke $370M
3 Indiana $279M
4 Ohio St $262M
5 Louisville $260M
6 Zona $257M
7 Cuse $256M
8 Illinois $232M
9 UK $223M
10 Arkansas $217M
11 Kansas $191M
12 Michigan $189M
13 Mich St $183M
14 UConn $165M
15 Minn $164M
Kansas lands at No. 11 in new WSJ value study
This kind of stuff matters a lot more now in the NIL era. With players able to earn lucrative amounts of money through these deals, a program's value can play a big role in attracting top talent.
Former Jayhawk Hunter Dickinson let the cat out of the bag with his latest comments. During an appearance on the Field of 68 podcast, Dickinson might have accidentally leaked some details about KU’s NIL situation.
“I gave up money. I gave up six figures to help our team get better because obviously, everybody thinks Kansas has all this money," Dickinson stated. "We weren’t even in the Top 15. We probably weren’t even in the Top 25 in spending. But they came off the rumor that we spent $5 million last year, and [players] were all on the bus like, ‘S***, who got the $5 million?’”
The part about Kansas potentially not being in the top 25 in spending raised eyebrows. Many assumed the university was handing out huge checks with all the NIL hype surrounding blue blood programs, but Dickinson made it sound like his payday was not as big as people thought.
KU might not be throwing around the biggest bag, but it is definitely in the mix. For now, fans can take comfort in knowing that the Jayhawks will be able to keep up with some of the bigger NIL spenders in the current chaotic college basketball landscape.