It’s been no secret this offseason that the Tennessee Vols are willing to spend big bucks in the NCAA transfer portal.

The Vols know that to get over the Elite Eight hump, they have to be aggressive in their roster-building efforts.

How much are the Tennessee Vols willing to spend on their roster?

Earlier this month, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Tennessee spent $8.5 million on its roster last season. Nakos noted that Tennessee could spend north of $10 million this offseason.

Nakos dropped a new report on Wednesday (April 15) and suggested that the number could actually end up being as high as $15 million for the Volunteers.

“Sources have told On3 that Tennessee is prepared to spend well over $10 million, and up to potentially $15 million, to put together the 2026-27 basketball roster,” wrote Nakos.

$15 million is obviously a significant amount of money, but it’s probably the minimum that Tennessee will need to spend if they’re going to build a championship-caliber roster. That’s around the amount that most of the top programs in the sport will be looking to spend this offseason.

“The Jayhawks spent over $10 million this past season, and with (Bill) Self lobbying for more dollars, that could balloon up to $13 to $15 million,” wrote Nakos earlier this month.

Ultimately, while a big budget is necessary to win championships, how the money is spent is just as important. The Vols need to make sure they’re spending on the right players for Rick Barnes’ culture, otherwise Tennessee will be the New York Mets of college basketball (very expensive roster with very few wins).

Fortunately for the Vols, though, Barnes knows as well as anyone what it takes to build a roster that can compete at the highest level of college basketball.