The Big Ten’s spending ladder has a pretty clear top, a crowded middle, and a handful of programs trying to squeeze real production out of leaner budgets.
According to The Athletic’s estimated 2026 football budgets, Wisconsin checks in at No. 8 in the conference, with the Badgers sitting in the $27-31 million range for this year’s roster. That places Wisconsin No. 23 among all Power 4 teams, plus Notre Dame, and right in the middle of a league where the gap from top to bottom is enormous.
The schools ahead of Wisconsin in the Big Ten are Ohio State at $49-54 million, Oregon at $48-54 million, USC at $37-40 million, Indiana at $36-40 million, Michigan at $36-40 million, Nebraska at $31-35 million, and Penn State at $29-32 million. Right behind the Badgers is UCLA at $26-30 million.
Here’s how the full Big Ten ranking shakes out:
Ohio State - $49-54M
Oregon - $48-54M
USC - $37-40M
Indiana - $36-40M
Michigan - $36-40M
Nebraska - $31-35M
Penn State - $29-32M
Wisconsin - $27-31M
UCLA - $26-30M
Maryland - $21-25M
Michigan State - $21-25M
Northwestern - $21-25M
Washington - $20-25M
Rutgers - $20-25M
Illinois - $19-22M
Minnesota - $18-22M
Iowa - $16-20M
Purdue - $16-20M
The top of the league comes with few surprises. Even after a heavy wave of transfer portal departures, Ohio State still landed at the top nationally. Oregon, USC, Indiana, and Michigan also sit where you’d expect them to.
The more interesting cluster is in the middle, where Wisconsin and Nebraska are trying to push into a higher tier under their head coaches. Nebraska’s Matt Rhule has gone 22-19 overall, giving the Huskers a stronger résumé than many of the other teams in that group.
At the lower end of the Big Ten, Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa all land in the bottom four, but that hasn’t stopped those programs from stringing together strong seasons in recent years. Those coaching staffs have consistently found ways to get more out of less.
The Athletic also noted that the Big Ten’s spending spread is wider than the SEC’s. As the article put it: “Although the Big Ten’s highest spenders are at the top of the food chain nationally, the gap from top to bottom in the league is wider than its biggest rival conference,” The Athletic wrote.
“Half of our estimates for Big Ten teams are below $25 million, which is roughly the baseline for bottom-end SEC teams. But the Big Ten has flipped the conference supremacy narrative on the field by winning three straight national championships with three different programs.”
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For Wisconsin, there is also the family connection that makes Sorgis progression feel especially meaningful. He is a legacy recruit, with his father, Jim Sorgi, having played for the Badgers, and he is expected to step into a young and competitive quarterback room next season. That gives his senior year a little extra weight for Wisconsin followers, who will be tracking not only the production but also how he continues to develop before joining a depth chart that should already be pushing him from day one. [Read more 🡒]
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Wisconsin's Penn State Test Gets Tougher With Two Huge Matchups
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The challenge gets even more layered when you look at the names involved. Quarterback Drew Becht has been the engine of the Penn State offense, while wide receiver Jahan Howard remains one of the key pieces to track as his injury status is questionable heading into the game. On the other side, linebacker Kalen Rojas is back from injury and giving the Penn State defense a boost, which only adds to the pressure Wisconsin will face in a matchup that already has plenty of weight. [Read more 🡒]