It's been reported that head coach Hubert Davis and the North Carolina basketball program spent a pretty astronomical amount of money to build next season's roster. But even after all of it, the Tar Heels still don't have a better roster than Duke.
According to a report from Inside Carolina, the Heels' NIL payroll for next season is $14 million. Davis had said earlier this year, amidst a season that was not going UNC's way at all, that changes had to be made to the way the Heels build their roster. He wasn't shy to spend the big bucks in order to bring in as much talent as he could.
However, despite tens of millions of dollars being invested in the roster, UNC still sits at best as a fringe top-20 team heading into next season, according to most networks.
Davis and Jim Tanner, the newly appointed general manager of UNC basketball, are bringing in the No. 8 overall recruiting class per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, headlined by five-star big man Caleb Wilson. On top of that, the Heels added some solid veterans through the transfer portal as well.
UNC reeled in the No. 73 transfer class per the On3 Transfer Portal Industry Rankings. Its top commits via the portal include Henri Veesaar from Arizona (No. 25 overall transfer), Kyan Evans from Colorado State (No. 26 point guard in portal), and Jarin Stevenson from Alabama (No. 25 power forward in portal). It's a solid group of guys that the Heels are bringing in, but it doesn't look on paper like the team got that much better, especially when considering a $14 million investment.
On top of that, UNC lost seven of its top eight scorers from last season, most notably RJ Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Ian Jackson, and Drake Powell. Even after all the money spent, Duke still seems to be in much better position than Carolina heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
It was reported that Duke would have at least $8 million in NIL to spend this offseason, and Jon Scheyer worked some magic with what he had.
The Blue Devils are bringing in the No. 1 overall recruiting class, headlined by five-star prospects Cameron Boozer, Dame Sarr, and Nik Khamenia. Scheyer was also able to bring back key contributors from last season, such as Isaian Evans, Maliq Brown, and Caleb Foster.
Duke also originally landed a commitment from star transfer shooting guard Cedric Coward, but he ultimately decided to remain in the 2025 NBA Draft and not return to college basketball.
At ESPN's most recent top 25 rankings heading into next season, Duke is slotted at No. 12. North Carolina sits at No. 25, barely hanging onto a ranking at all.
Scheyer once again worked his recruiting magic this offseason, and as Davis is desperately looking to bring the Heels back to Final Four contention, he spent some serious NIL money in hopes of getting that done. But as it looks now, the Blue Devils still outplayed UNC this offseason.