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Rick Pitino Sends Blunt Message on NIL After Reports of Him Spending $10 Million

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 1:49 PM ET

After tying a program record for wins with 31 and earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Rick Pitino's St. John's Red Storm are having one of the best offseasons in college basketball.

They have assembled what currently ranks as the No. 1 transfer portal class, headlined by 2023 first-team All-Big East selection Bryce Hopkins (Providence), and former five-star Ian Jackson (North Carolina).

Putting together a class featuring three former five-star recruits likely isn't cheap, but some astronomical numbers have been tossed around. According to a report by CBS Sports, St. John's is one of eight programs that "either have $10 million committed already or are easily capable of reaching that total" as they build their roster.

While it's unclear how much money St. John's is actually spending, Pitino took to X to reveal it's not nearly as much as people are saying.

"I love the exaggerations of what people are spending on NIL," wrote Pitino.

While it may not be $10 million, it's hard to imagine that it's not at least in the millions. Using the numbers provided by On3's NIL roster value of Jackson, Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell and Joson Sanon the Red Storm's class has a combined roster value of over $4 million.

It seems unlikely that fans or insiders will ever truly know how much is being spent until there are more regulations in college athletics, but clearly, Pitino is making it a point to devalue some of the reports that have been circulating in recent days.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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