Dusty May expects Michigan roster cost to increase, surpass $10 million in 2026-27

“We’re very grateful – myself as a coach, our assistant coaches and players – for all of those that laid the foundation for the sport to be where it is now, in a healthy place, generating the type of revenue. And our job is to leave it in a better place than we found it for the next generation of coaches and players.”

Dusty May: ‘Everyone got great return on our investment’

Throughout Michigan’s national title run, the Wolverines drew plenty of eyeballs. The national title game against UConn became the most-watched game of the 2025-26 season with 18.3 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV, and the Wolverines’ Final Four victory over Arizona drew the second-best TV ratings at 14.3 million viewers.

In fact, Michigan became the most-watched team in college basketball this year, averaging 3.4 million viewers across both the regular season and postseason. That exposure put the university on the big stage. Add in the potential for ad revenue, and Dusty May said there’s plenty of opportunity for a strong return on investment in the roster.

“I don’t have the numbers now, but I remember back in the FAU days, the monetary value in ad revenue was valued in the billions,” May said. “So if you have to pay, let’s factor in the scholarship and operating budget of our team. And then, you have to pay them a salary of, call it, $10 million. That’s a pretty good return. Obviously, you’re not going to do that every single year. But if you can invest $15 million and you can return multiple billions, I think a lot of universities would take that gamble. That’s a component that we don’t really talk about.

“Universities spend an inordinate amount of dollars to advertise in airports and along billboards on interstates, by having reps in the schools and things like that. Think of the amount of eyes that are put on a university through the NCAA Tournament and the Final Four and the national championship game. So there’s a lot of return on investment. I’m not one of these coaches that don’t think the players should be getting paid. Now, obviously, there has to be a more long-term viable system to make this all work. But I do think everyone got great return on our investment.”