ᴅᴇʟᴛᴀ ᴅᴏɴ

EXCLUSIVE: #LSU is expected to be — ‘at the floor, extremely competitive on the NIL front for all of football, both basketball teams, and baseball’ — for the foreseeable future. The following is info that I’ve been able to dig up since Wilson Alexander’s report, last summer on how LSU plans to divy up their revenue sharing and NIL budget after last year’s settlement between the NCAA and The House. For context: Alexander was told by the program that LSU plans to spend 75% on football, 15% on men’s basketball, 5% on women’s basketball, and the remaining 5% on ALL other sports, including mainly baseball, gymnastics, and softball. Now…here’s what I’ve heard almost one-year later, which of course, includes Brian Kelly being bought out, Lane Kiffin being hired, Matt McMahon being bought out, Will Wade being hired, and Jay Johnson winning another National Championship. Side note…it’s widely known that LSU is all-in on Lane Kiffin and the football program, paying Kiffin $13 million per year as well as shelling out over $40 million for this year’s team. For the men’s basketball program, Will Wade will make $4 million in 2026 and will have nearly $15 million to spend on his roster for his first season back in Baton Rouge. Now…Women’s Basketball and Baseball’s future for LSU… LSU Women’s Basketball NIL Future The current administration believes Women’s Basketball’s ratings surge + national coverage has exceeded that of baseball over the past handful of years. For context — LSU’s WBB Valentine’s Day loss against South Carolina hit nearly 2 million viewers while the Tigers’ baseball national title winning game over Coastal Carolina hit just over 2 million viewers — it’s worth noting that last year’s UConn-South Carolina WBB title game nearly reached 9 million viewers. Despite losing over $7 million in 2025 after spending nearly $12 million (Mulkey’s salary + NIL + team expenses) the program is expected to ‘exceed’ the $12 million spent in 2025 on the 2026 team. Numbers haven’t been tossed out but some sourced opinions believe next season’s budget for WBB could balloon to (or exceed) $15 million (Mulkey’s salary + NIL + team expenses). It’s worth noting Mulkey has tirelessly worked to get her own donors, something the school is actively looking to alleviate. LSU Baseball NIL Future While the Tigers are the premier program in college baseball and have been since Jay Johnson came to Baton Rouge, ‘The Powerhouse’ could find themselves still battling with the likes of gymnastics and softball for NIL. Johnson has been and will continue to find his own funding for the program and it’s very unlikely that funds will be taken from the baseball program, but it’s also expected that additional resources won’t be sent to Johnson from LSU’s athletics budget for 2026 and the near future, meaning the near $11 million spent on the baseball team (Johnson’s salary + NIL + team expenses) in 2025, likely won’t increase in 2026 or beyond. FWIW, the baseball team was operating at a near $2 million loss in 2025 despite their dominant national title winning campaign, which could add to the administration’s future decisions. I’m also told when it comes to Johnson’s recent comments flirting with MLB interest, the school would love to have him, but would unlikely go ‘all out’ in order to keep him in Baton Rouge. In addition, most believe Johnson’s comments are him putting public pressure on the administration to continue to add resources to the baseball program — while others believe Johnson has legitimate interest in the big leagues — but also admit Johnson has ‘growing frustration’ with LSU’s administration. LSU’s 2026 NIL Future Overall, last year’s 75% on football, 15% on men’s basketball, 5% on women’s basketball, and 5% on baseball, gymnastics, softball, and others split is likely to be 70% on football, 15% on men’s basketball, 10% on women’s basketball, 5% on baseball, gymnastics, softball, and others for 2026 and the foreseeable future.