Stephen A. Smith criticizes Kentucky over roster building, NIL spending

In October 2025, the Lexington Herald Leader reported that Kentucky spent “around $22 million” on its roster. At the time, UK head coach Mark Pope didn’t dispute the report and, in fact, welcomed the enormous figure, claiming Kentucky should have the largest NIL in college basketball.

However, Pope’s initial embrace of the reports around Kentucky’s lofty NIL spending backfired when the Wildcats’ season didn’t go according to plan. Kentucky ultimately finished seventh in the SEC standings and was eliminated in a blowout loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The season’s anticlimactic conclusion was a far cry from the buzz around the program at the beginning of the season. On Monday, First Take host Stephen A. Smith criticized Kentucky for its NIL spending and roster construction.

“Kentucky underachieved, but it was primarily due to injuries,” Smith said. “You got this cat, [Jayden] Quaintance and [Jaland] Lowe, who were supposed to be available. They only played about three games together. I get that, that’s what they said. … They ultimately were injured. The issue with Kentucky is that you misspent because you spent about $22 million in NIL.

“This is a business now in college sports. If you’re gonna dole out those dollars, you got to make it count. It can’t be on maybe. It can’t be on cats that ain’t available. If you’re paying them, you better make sure they’re playing. And that wasn’t the case with Kentucky.”

As Smith mentioned, Kentucky’s case is more complex than referring to the season as an all-systems failure. After all, Jayden Quaintance, who entered the season as a projected NBA Draft lottery pick, only made four appearances.

Additionally, All-ACC transfer Jaland Lowe suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason that ultimately required season-ending surgery. Of course, injury-risk analysis is part of recruiting and Kentucky isn’t the only team that deals with it.

As of this report, Kentucky isn’t in a strong position to bounce back next season. The Wildcats don’t have any recruits committed from the Class of 2026; though, they are still in the hunt for No. 1 overall prospect Tyran Stokes.

Kentucky is expected to return head coach Mark Pope for his third season, but he’ll be under pressure to succeed. The 53-year-old head coach likely won’t be as quick to boast about the program’s NIL spending next season until the ‘Cats achieve adequate results.