NIL has forever changed the landscape of college athletics.
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball program will try to be active in the transfer portal, but bringing top players to Madison isn’t going to be easy.
Advertisement
In a new report from On3’s Pete Nakos, numerous teams are “gearing up to spend $10M+” in the transfer portal. Rivals’ Joe Tipton chimed in, writing that “a Big Ten coach told me today: If you’re under $12 million in NIL, you’re in trouble.”
For reference, it was reported in mid-2025 that three Big Ten teams were among the top five spenders in the nation. Those included Michigan ($8.8 million), Maryland ($7.1 million), and Iowa ($6.6 million). While these numbers were just estimates, Kentucky was on the hot seat this year after an early tournament exit with a rumored cost of $22 million for their roster.
When it comes to the 2026 transfer portal, Kansas’ Flory Bidunga has a reported asking price of $5 million. This is simply money Wisconsin doesn’t have to spend on its men’s basketball program, and these players are pricing out schools left and right. Longtime head coach Greg Gard certainly has his work cut out for him if the total Tipton heard is true.
In total, four Wisconsin seniors are set to graduate. Those players include star point guard Nick Boyd, guard Braeden Carrington and forward Andrew Rohde.
Advertisement
Not only does Gard have to worry about his outgoing seniors, but he needs to focus on replacing potential bench contributors Jack Robinson and Riccardo Greppi, who have already entered the transfer portal.
The Badgers are hoping that John Blackwell chooses to return for his senior season, and it would certainly be a huge boost to the team if he does. He’s trying to recruit a pair of players in the transfer portal, but if Wisconsin doesn’t have the proper NIL allocations, it could be in big trouble.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin men’s basketball transfer portal NIL preview On3
