College basketball players should be making the money that they do — and potentially even more. The NCAA brought in $1.38 billion in revenue in 2024-25. You do not generate that kind of revenue from “amateurs.” These are professionals, and they deserve to be paid like professionals. As the years go on, more regulations will be put in place to ultimately fix this flawed system. But for now, college basketball players should continue to leverage the system and enter their names into the transfer portal. The transfer portal is an open market where schools bid on players, turning recruitment into a bidding war that drives up each player’s value — which is exactly why a player should almost always enter the transfer portal.
There are exceptions, of course. Thomas Haugh, Braylon Mullins, Elliot Cadeau, and Maleek Thomas did not enter the transfer portal, and all are receiving multiple millions of dollars to return to their respective schools — rightfully so. It makes sense that programs like Florida, UConn, Michigan, and Arkansas have the financial resources to pay their superstars to stay.
BYU’s Rob Wright III is a perfect example of why entering the transfer portal is often the right move. Wright III entered the portal on April 8th, 2026, then withdrew on April 15th to return to BYU. This was a brilliant move. By entering the open market and generating interest from multiple schools, he effectively forced BYU to improve their offer. While speculative, it’s reasonable to believe Wright III’s contract increased by at least $1 million as a result. Don’t hate the player — hate the game. Given that an NBA career is far from guaranteed, Wright III should absolutely maximize his earning potential now. Once again, it’s a business.
Top transfers Flory Bidunga and John Blackwell are two more prime examples of why players should always enter the transfer portal. Bidunga is one of the best centers in the country, and his versatile style of play makes him attractive to virtually any program. By hitting the open market, schools lined up to sign him, and the bidding war resulted in a payday of at least $5 million from Louisville.
The same logic applies to Blackwell. He is a guard who can do it all — staying at Wisconsin out of “loyalty” was not going to earn him life-changing money. By entering the portal, a blue-blood program like Duke was able to offer him a massive paycheck. This is how the system works, and both players capitalized on it.
Finally, there are players who are potentially NBA-caliber and simply need to test the waters. These players will ultimately do what is best for their basketball futures and their finances. If they explore the NBA draft and decide to return to college, they should not lock themselves into a school before seeing what the market offers. Milan Momcilovic, Tounde Yessoufou, Allen Graves, and Juke Harris fit this mold perfectly. Whether they become late first-round picks or return to college, entering the portal ensures they get paid at their true market value.
This is the current state of college basketball. It is a business, and players need to act in their best interest — which usually means entering the transfer portal to secure the biggest payday possible.
