With the 2026-27 season about a week from tipping off, Wisconsin’s men’s basketball roster is taking shape under 12th-year coach Greg Gard - and the money behind it is now part of the conversation too.
Gard is working with seven newcomers this season, including three transfers in Eian Elmer from Miami OH, Victory Onuetu from Hofstra, and Trey Autry from George Washington. The incoming group also includes Jackson Ball, Owen Foxwell, Isaac Riddle, and LaTrevion Fenderson. But Gard recently said Fenderson will not take part in basketball activities this season, trimming that class before the opener.
The bigger picture comes from CBS Sports’ preseason NIL survey, which used a 100-source list to assess the market across college basketball. Matt Norlander and Issac Trotter reported that putting together the typical high-major roster now requires at least $13.5 million.
Wisconsin lands in Tier 5 in that ranking, alongside Clemson, Georgia, Iowa State, Minnesota, NC State, Nebraska, Syracuse, and TCU. That tier was projected to sit in the $10 million to $12 million range.
Gard addressed the challenge at Big Ten Media Day, framing Wisconsin’s approach around discipline and market realities. “We have to be really strategic and really intentional; a great example is what our Brewers are doing right now.
One of the smallest markets in baseball. I'm not saying we have the smallest market in college basketball, but we're not the Yankees or the Dodgers.
We have to find a way to compete with the Yankees and the Dodgers. We've done it, and we'll continue to do it,” he said.
Norlander and Trotter also noted that Wisconsin has “embraced being different from a style-of-play perspective, which gives them a chance to succeed with lower budgets.”
At the top of the NIL food chain, Tier 1 included Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, St. John’s, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas Tech, with all 11 of those programs reportedly spending more than $20 million on their men’s basketball rosters.
Louisville’s starting five alone is valued at “just north of $15 million,” a number that puts Wisconsin’s entire roster, which costs up to $5 million less than the Cardinals’ starting lineup, into sharp perspective.
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