Report reveals Florida’s increased spending on basketball under Todd Golden
By David Wasson
Published:
College basketball is big business, and the biggest programs are spending more and more every year to keep up in the seemingly never-ending Name, Image and Likeness arms race.
The latest example is the Florida Gators, which reportedly increased its total spending by 27% leading up to Florida’s 2024-25 national championship run.
The Orlando Sentinel reported the 2024-25 figure Friday, saying the increase was around $3.75 million – up substantially from coach Todd Golden’s second season in Gainesville – and made Florida’s total basketball budget $14.08 million. The figures were obtained via the Gators’ 2024-25 NCAA annual financial report obtained by the Sentinel through a public records request.
Florida’s coaching salary pool increased 32.9% to $4.5 million, a figure set to rise dramatically after the Gators’ national title earned Golden a 6-year, $40.5 million deal through 2031. Florida’s current and future spending will also increase noticeably in future reports due to the Gators’ athletic department revenue sharing pool of $20.5 million since the legislation went into effect July 1, 2025, following the House v. NCAA settlement ruling.
Those distribution figures are not made public, but SEC schools generally assign 15% to men’s basketball — or $2.7 million.
Florida won its third national title in 2024-25, a three-week NCAA Tournament odyssey that cost $1.818 million. Still, Florida basketball generated $17.7 million in gross revenues, which delivered about $3.6 million in profit.
In all, the school’s University Athletic Association overall revenues of $221 million in 2024-25 represented a $16 million bump, and the $200.99 million in expenses were down from $205.1 million the year prior.
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An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
