The price continues to go up for the top available talent in the college basketball transfer portal.
Last offseason, Washington Huskies big man Great Osobor signed one of the biggest transfer portal deals, reportedly getting a $2 million package to transfer from Utah State.
This offseason, that price tag has already risen by at least $1 million.
According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, former New Mexico guard Donovan Dent received a $3 million package to transfer to UCLA. Dent reportedly will receive an initial $2 million payment, with the remaining $1 million to be paid out during the 2025-26 season.
That is in line with what the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Orlando Magic guard Tristan da Sliva, is making during his rookie NBA season.
Former UNLV guard Dedan Thomas, who averaged 15.6 points and 4.7 assists as a sophomore, reportedly received a package close to $2.5 million to transfer to LSU. Thomas picked LSU over Kentucky, Florida and Syracuse.
“The transfer portal is crazy. There are kids asking for $2-3 million right now,” new Villanova head coach Kevin Willard told The Team 980 last week. “The money has exploded crazy because we have no guardrails. We have no rules. It’s been as badly of a rule implemented as ever. And agents are taking advantage of it.”
A salary cap is coming
The proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA cases — commonly known as the House case — would result in an estimated $23.1 million salary cap for every Power 5 conference school. The final hearing is scheduled for April 7 and the cap would go into effect for the 2025-26 school year.
Power 5 schools are already operating under this premise, with athletic departments determining how much of that money will be distributed to their men’s basketball programs.
The cap is based on a percentage of the average revenue streams of a school’s athletic department, including TV contracts and sponsorships. Direct payments will only be available to players on teams that generate broadcast revenue (football, men’s and women’s basketball).
The Arizona men’s basketball program — like all Power 5 college basketball programs — has to be very intentional with how it spends its money. The Wildcats lost Henri Veesaar to the transfer portal earlier this week in large part because they can’t afford him. With Koa Peat committing and Brayden Burries still in the mix — plus Motiejus Krivas, Jaden Bradley, Tobe Awaka and other players coming back — there’s only so much money to go around.
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