In this day and age of college athletics, if you want a big fish to play for your team, you’d better be willing to spend some money. It’s crazy to think like that when it comes to amateur athletes, but that’s where college athletics have come to.

When Milan Momcilovic withdrew his name from the NBA Draft, Kentucky instantly became a potential destination for the nation’s best three-point shooter. But we knew the Cats were going to have to throw the bag at Momcilovic to get him to Lexington.

Needless to say, they did so.

According to On3’s NIL Valuation rankings, which began on July 1st this year, Momcilovic is the No. 2 athlete in terms of earnings at $6 million. That’s tied for first in college basketball and the second-highest earner in all of college sports.

Here is a list of the top 10 highest-paid college athletes:

1. Miami QB Darian Mensah – $6.5 million

2. Kentucky PF Milan Momcilovic – $6 million

3. Louisville C Flory Bidunga – $6 million

4. Oregon QB Dante Moore – $5 million

5. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith – $5 million

6. St. John’s SF Tounde Yessoufou – $5 million

7. Florida SF Thomas Haugh – $5 million

8. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss – $5 million

9. Gonzaga C Massamba Diop – $5 million

10. Kansas SF Tyran Stokes – $5 million

Six players on this list are from college basketball.

Give Kentucky credit for throwing a lot of money at Momcilovic. They understand what it takes to land big fish in this day and age of college athletics, and they got their guy in the best shooter in the country.

This is a good sign for both basketball and football that Kentucky is spending money and adapting to the modern era of college athletics.