Updated Saturday, September 5, 2026. Figures are On3 NIL Valuations as of September 4, 2026, which reflect reported compensation from schools and collectives. This page refreshes monthly and after the spring portal window.
College basketball’s two most expensive players this season are both transfers who flirted with the NBA draft, pulled out, and cashed in on the open market. Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Louisville’s Flory Bidunga are at $6 million each, which is more than every college football player except Darian Mensah. Basketball, with 13 scholarships instead of 105, concentrates money in a way football cannot, and the top of this list shows it.
| Rank | Player | Pos | School | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milan Momcilovic | PF | Kentucky | $6M |
| 2 | Flory Bidunga | C | Louisville | $6M |
| 3 | Tyran Stokes | SF | Kansas | $5M |
| 4 | Thomas Haugh | PF | Florida | $5M |
| 5 | Tounde Yessoufou | SF | St. John’s | $5M |
| 6 | Massamba Diop | C | Gonzaga | $5M |
| 7 | PJ Haggerty | SG | Texas A&M | $4M |
| 8 | Zoom Diallo | PG | Kentucky | $4M |
| 9 | Aiden Sherrell | C | Indiana | $4M |
| 10 | John Blackwell | SG | Duke | $4M |
| 11 | Somto Cyril | C | Miami | $4M |
| 12 | Juke Harris | SG | Tennessee | $4M |
| 13 | JT Toppin | PF | Texas Tech | $4M |
| 14 | David Punch | PF | Texas | $4M |
| 15 | Samet Yigitoglu | C | Indiana | $4M |
| 16 | Sananda Fru | PF | Marquette | $4M |
| 17 | Isaiah Johnson | PG | Texas | $3.5M |
| 18 | Donnie Freeman | PF | St. John’s | $3.2M |
| 19 | Caleb Holt | SG | Arizona | $3.2M |
| 20 | Jackson Shelstad | PG | Louisville | $3M |
| 21 | Cruz Davis | CG | Texas Tech | $3M |
| 22 | Dai Dai Ames | PG | Tennessee | $3M |
| 23 | Miles Byrd | SG | Providence | $3M |
| 24 | Kwame Evans Jr. | PF | Villanova | $3M |
| 25 | JP Estrella | PF | Michigan | $3M |
Also at $3 million: Jalen Haralson (Tennessee), Paulius Murauskas (Arizona State), Moustapha Thiam (Michigan), Acaden Lewis (Miami), Matt Able and Terrence Brown (North Carolina). Players with the same valuation are listed in On3’s order.
What the List Shows
The portal is the market. Momcilovic left Iowa State, pulled his name from the NBA draft in late May and chose Kentucky over Louisville at about $6 million; he shot an NCAA best 48.7 percent from three last season. Bidunga was the centerpiece of a Louisville portal haul that On3 valued at nearly $20 million for one roster. Yessoufou (Baylor to St. John’s) and Diop (Arizona State to Gonzaga) followed the same path: draft prospect, withdrawal, big transfer contract.
Freshmen can command star money now. Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 recruit in the 2026 class, chose Kansas over Kentucky at $5 million and is the early favorite to be the top pick in the 2027 NBA draft. Under the old rules a recruit could not be paid at all before enrolling.
Returning stars get paid to stay. Thomas Haugh passed on a likely lottery selection to return to Florida, and the Gators are a preseason favorite because of it.
Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee are loaded. Kentucky has three players in the top 25 (Momcilovic, Diallo, plus Alex Wilkins further down the NIL 100), Indiana has three (Sherrell, Yigitoglu, Markus Burton just outside) and Tennessee has three at $3 million or more.
How to Read These Numbers
On3 switched to a deal based valuation on July 1, 2026, so these figures track what a school or collective is paying, not endorsement value. There is no public contract database in college basketball; treat each number as the best reported estimate. The football list is on our highest NIL valuations in college football page, and the rules behind the money are on the House settlement explained.
The Bottom Line
Milan Momcilovic and Flory Bidunga, at $6 million each, are the highest paid players in college basketball for 2026-27, ahead of a $5 million tier of Tyran Stokes, Thomas Haugh, Tounde Yessoufou and Massamba Diop. Almost everyone at the top of the list either transferred this spring or turned down the NBA draft, which tells you where the money in the sport now comes from.