(SNH) — While hopes were high for Kentucky going into March Madness, the result was the same as it has been for several years now: another early-round exit.

This one was perhaps particularly painful, as the Wildcats fell in the first round to No. 14 seed Oakland, a team that up until that point had a total of one NCAA tournament win in its entire history.

With a potentially strong recruiting class and key returning players, Kentucky seemed prime to retool and try again in the fall. But head coach John Calipari had other plans. Instead of coming back for his 16th season, he decided to quit and become the head coach at Arkansas.

So, why would Calipari jump ship from such a lucrative program to one that hasn’t made a Final Four appearance in nearly 30 years? It could be because of a yet-to-be-known scandal at Kentucky. After all, this is the same coach who left two programs in disgrace.

Both UMass and Memphis had to vacate wins due to issues involving different things, including paying players and academic cheating. (It should be noted that while the schools suffered penalties – financial and otherwise – Calipari remained virtually unscathed.)

The more likely reason why Calipari decided to leave has to do with money. Not so much his salary, however; he’s actually taking a bit of a pay cut to join the Razorbacks. But, it turns out, he’s actually going to have a substantial amount of funds to pay players with – in a way that’s now completely legal.

For years, it was against NCAA rules for college players to receive any sort of payment. In fact, the term “student-athlete” was created so colleges wouldn’t have to pay worker’s compensation to injured football players. But, thanks to Name, Image, and Likeness rights (NIL), college athletes are now able to accept money from endorsements, autographs, etc.

Of course, it didn’t take long for colleges to realize that they could use NIL for their own advantage, which brings us back to Mr. Calipari. According to sources, Arkansas will have at least $5 million but perhaps closer to $6 million in NIL funds to use annually to attract players. In comparison, most top schools generally have between $1 million and $4 million to work with.

This disparity is significant, as it’s not uncommon for top talent – particularly at the forward or center position – to receive $1 million. Even premier guards are now getting $500,000 as encouragement to pick one school over another. In addition to luring new recruits and players in the transfer portal, the speculation is that Calipari and his new-found riches may also try to poach current Kentucky players.

And from where, exactly, is Arkansas getting all of this money? A lot of it flows in from ultra-wealthy donors. These include Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, the Walton family (who owns Walmart), and John Tyson, owner of Tyson Foods. The NIL bankroll could also increase if other national brands – as well as local businesses – decide they want to jump on the Calipari-led Razorbacks bandwagon.

Over the years, John Calipari has proven that he does whatever it takes to win. When this mentality is combined with deep pockets – and no need to do things in the shadows anymore – his first-round March Madness exits may be a thing of the past.

Tim Josephs is a writer for Sports News Highlights.

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