New report details how much Tennessee basketball spent on its roster last season and how much the Vols plan to spend this offseason
The Tennessee Vols reached the Elite Eight for the third straight season in 2025-26. But for the third straight season, the Volunteers came up one game short of reaching the first Final Four in Tennessee basketball history.
The expectation this offseason is that the Tennessee Vols basketball program will do whatever it takes to build a championship-caliber roster.
Vols head coach Rick Barnes admitted after Tennessee’s loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight that his team has to shoot better to eventually reach a Final Four.
“We’re going to have to shoot the ball better,” said Barnes after the loss to Michigan when asked what it’ll take to get over the hump in the tournament. “There’s no doubt. We’ve got to shoot the ball better. We’re so inconsistent doing that. We still have to be better finishing around the rim. You’ve watched us all year and we missed too many of those shots.
“Obviously, our defense got us here. It really did. It’s no question. We’ve had games where we’ve struggled to score, but you’re playing against an outstanding team today that was scoring. But just simply, we all have to get better. We all have to keep working at it. We certainly know what it takes to get here, now we’ve got to figure out getting through to the next level.”
Outkick’s Trey Wallace reported this week that Tennessee is committed to giving Barnes the resources he needs to build a championship roster.
New report details how much Tennessee spent on its roster last season and how much the Vols plan to spend this offseason
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Tennessee spent $8.5 million on its roster for the 2025-26 season.
That number is expected to climb to north of $10 million this offseason.
“The Volunteers spent $8.5 million on this year’s Elite Eight roster; that number is expected to jump over the $10 million mark,” reported Nakos.
It’s certainly encouraging for Vols fans that Tennessee is committed to spending more on its roster.
But the Vols may need to go well over $10 million to truly build a championship roster.
Nakos also noted in his report that Kansas, which lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, spent over $10 million on its roster last season. The Jayhawks, according to Nakos, could spend $13 to $15 million this offseason.
“The Jayhawks spent over $10 million this past season, and with Self lobbying for more dollars, that could balloon up to $13 to $15 million,” wrote Nakos.
Nakos also pointed out that programs such as Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, and Florida all spent $10 million or more on their rosters this season.
Tennessee was clearly behind by spending only $8.5 million this season. If they only spend $10 million this offseason, they’ll be in a similar situation again next year.
If the Vols truly want to break through, they made need to commit to spending around $15 million on their roster for the 2026-27 season.
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