NIL
College coaching legend John Calipari has a hilarious take on NIL money
College basketball coaching legend John Calipari has long been known for his candid approach to speaking his mind. He has little regard for the opinions of others when it comes to his thoughts on the state of the game that he loves. As the 96th coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in the […]
College basketball coaching legend John Calipari has long been known for his candid approach to speaking his mind. He has little regard for the opinions of others when it comes to his thoughts on the state of the game that he loves. As the 96th coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2025, Calipari has the resume to back up any of his assertions.
While he struggled to adjust to the NBA game as a coach, he has won at every school he has been at in the collegiate ranks. UMass, Memphis, Kentucky, and now Arkansas were all elite programs vying for National Championships every year while he was coaching there. While the University of Arkansas certainly has one of the biggest name, image, and likeness (NIL) backers in the Walton family (heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune), Calipari himself has been critical of the program. He recently shared some hilarious insights on NIL.
My new favorite Coach Calipari quote:
“There were 26-, 27-year-old players playing against 18-year-olds. I look at a kid, he’s waving to his wife and their kids in the stands. And it was the second wife. He was using the NIL for alimony for the first one” 😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/RRuEvOUwCY
— pinto (@pinto479) June 12, 2025
Coach Cal was poking fun at the fact that NIL has enticed many kids to stay in college longer. They can earn millions while in college, despite not being NBA-ready. Former Michigan Wolverine and Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson utilized every year of his eligibility to earn millions, with little to no chance of making it to the NBA. Calipari gained fame for his use of the “one-and-done” player while at Kentucky. He recruited elite five-star talent to come to Lexington for one year, knowing it was merely a brief stop before the NBA.
While Calipari is certainly utilizing NIL to build his roster, he has a negative feeling about the whole process. It sounds like he views it as a stain on the game and is determined to distribute dollars equally among his team. Regardless of how he approaches it, he never fails to provide a hilarious context when asked about trending topics.
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