Where does the Badgers budget rank in the Big Ten?

Where does the Badgers budget rank in the Big Ten?

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Where does the Badgers budget rank in the Big Ten?
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell holds a play sheet and wears a headset on the sidelines during the game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on September 12, 2026. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

Last week, The Athletic published an article revealing the estimated budget of every college football team for the 2026 season. We’ve heard reports that the Wisconsin Badgers pushed over $30 million for this year’s roster, putting them in the upper half of the Power 4, but where do they lie amongst their peers in the Big Ten?

There’s a wide range of budgets in Power 4 conferences, stemming from Ohio State ($49-54 million) to Boston College ($8-13 million). Wisconsin ranks No. 23 among all Power 4 teams (plus Notre Dame) in estimated budget, sitting around $27-31 million for this year’s roster.

That puts them at No. 8 in the Big Ten, right behind Penn State ($29-32 million) and Nebraska ($31-35 million). Here’s the full ranking:

  1. Ohio State — $49–54M
  2. Oregon — $48–54M
  3. USC — $37–40M
  4. Indiana — $36–40M
  5. Michigan — $36–40M
  6. Nebraska — $31–35M
  7. Penn State — $29–32M
  8. Wisconsin — $27–31M
  9. UCLA — $26–30M
  10. Maryland — $21–25M
  11. Michigan State — $21–25M
  12. Northwestern — $21–25M
  13. Washington — $20–25M
  14. Rutgers — $20–25M
  15. Illinois — $19–22M
  16. Minnesota — $18–22M
  17. Iowa — $16–20M
  18. Purdue — $16–20M

There aren’t many surprises at the top. Even with a ton of transfer portal departures this offseason, the Buckeyes still ended up at the top of the country in terms of budget. Oregon, USC, Indiana, and Michigan are no surprises either.

Wisconsin and Nebraska are the two interesting ones in the middle tier. They’re both trying to take that next step forward under their respective head coaches (although Matt Rhule has had more success with a 22-19 overall record).

There are several teams that have regularly performed well in that bottom tier. Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa are in the bottom four. Yet, each of those teams has put together some strong seasons over the past few years, with those coaches regularly doing more with less.

Overall, there’s a bigger gap in spending in the Big Ten than in the SEC, according to the article.

“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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