If you think the Wisconsin football roster looks better in 2026 than it did in 2025, the big reason could be because of how much more money Luke Fickell spent. He dove into the portal to help this team start winning immediately. On3's top reporter, Pete Nakos, reports that the Badgers spent north of $25 million on the current roster. This is both with retaining and buying.
While Fickell has questioned where these numbers have come from, he's never fully refuted them. The only people to refute are those saying that the roster is actually more than $25 million. One thing Nakos knows for sure is that the Badgers were big, big spenders in the transfer portal. He's paid to know the market in the portal and recruiting and to monitor it. He may have to guess on some numbers, but for Wisconsin to get who they got, they had to spend. Fickell even admits that now Wisconsin is spending, "We're in the mix now. We're not on the outside."
Wisconsin spent big in the portal. https://t.co/dIjqHTkpbZ
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) July 31, 2026
Luke Fickell went out and upgraded the roster immediately for 2026 thanks to transfer portal
Related: CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli gives Wisconsin a label that will turn a lot of heads
Wisconsin added high-impact players that were great on their teams last season, but he also identified players that deserve to be starters but may have been in a logjam. "When we went into the portal this year, we were looking for guys that need to be a starter," Fickell explained the portal strategy. When you look at who the Badgers added, you can see some of each of those camps.
Wisconsin brought in Colton Joseph and Abu Sama III, both of whom were extremely productive at their previous stops. Marvin Brooks Jr. is another example of a top transfer that Fickell grabbed in the portal. Javan Robinson (a leader in the CB room now) and tight end Jacob Harris are other examples of stars grabbed in the portal.
Then Fickell went and pulled out some players who should be starters and will get a chance to be at Wisconsin, like Bryce West, a cornerback from Ohio State; Lucas Simmons-Johansson, a former 4-star tackle who was sitting on the bench at Florida State; Jayden Loftis, another 4-star talent from Tennessee; Zion Kearney, a wide receiver from Oklahoma; and many other examples.
Fickell wasn't messing around in the portal; that much is clear. Volume alone puts him way up in the top of the field. The Badgers added 33 transfers and pretty much gave all of them the opportunity to compete for a starting spot. That alone shows they spent big, but put in some of the players they pulled out of the portal, and you know Wisconsin turned the faucet on to watch money come out.
It's what was necessary, and Fickell admits that Wisconsin was a late adopter of this approach. He told reporters he and Chris McIntosh were late in getting all this going, but now they are in the thick of it. When asked about how much money you have to spend to compete in college football, he answered, “I don’t like it. But you know what I hate a hell of a lot more? Losing.”
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