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Rick Pitino is fresh off his best season at St. John’s. The Red Storm won both the regular season and conference tournament championships in the Big East.
His squad landed a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament for that success, and though they were unable to make it through the opening weekend, the team largely exceeded expectations.
St. John’s went 31-5, an 11-game boost from the year prior. That included an 18-2 mark in league play to set a single season record for Big East wins.
Coaching was a huge part of that production. Many believe money was, too.
St. John’s supposedly boasted an NIL budget of around $4 million. Rick Pitino made it clear that he’d intended to spend that money to the best of his abilities.
That budget allowed the Red Storm to nab talent in the transfer portal. They swiped key players from Seton Hall, Mississippi State, Kansas, and UMass.
Pitino denied that NIL was the main reason for the team’s success. He believes some of his star players could make more elsewhere. Still, it played a significant role.
It appears that will again be the case in 2025-26. St. John’s could have an NIL advantage over other major programs, and it’s already paying dividends.
Rick Pitino responded to NIL claims surrounding St. John’s.
Word out of NYC is Rick Pitino/St. John’s aiming for budget buster roster in 2025-26: Joson Sanon, Bryce Hopkins (major target), Zuby Ejiofor, RJ Luis could cost $5-6 mil alone.
-Kevin McNamara on X
Whispers of a $6M+ budget surfaced this week. The Red Storm are expected to spend big in order to replicate success.
Their Big East affiliation might help them out. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports dove into that potential advantage on Wednesday.
“In the Big East,” says Duke athletic director Nina King, “their basketball revenue-share portion will be a lot more than what those of us can do who have Division I power football programs.”
Power 4 programs have to split spending between football and basketball. Often, football takes priority. That isn’t the case for teams like St. John’s. The focus is on hoops, and so is the wallet.
While Dellenger suggests that some Big East programs could have upwards of $7 million at their disposal, Rick Pitino denied rumors of his plans to back up the Brinks truck.
Rick Pitino texted me to say this amount of NIL for St. John’s is a ‘total fabrication.’
Unfortunately, a recruiting win only heightened the noise. St. John’s landed five-star transfer Joson Sanon from Arizona State on Wednesday. He should make an immediate impact in the coming season.
NIL details on that addition aren’t readily available. With Sanon set to become a Johnnie, Pitino can focus on keeping current players like RJ Luis and Zuby Ejiofor on the roster. Given past production, those players will likely be a bit pricier next year.
Rick Pitino claims that he’s not outspending rivals to bolster his lineup. Recent activity would suggest otherwise!