Four weeks from today, a new era for the transfer portal officially begins.
The winter transfer window will open on the Monday after conference championship weekend, extending from Dec. 9 to Dec. 28. The seventh year of college programs utilizing the NCAA transfer portal has already begun, with more than 50 FBS players currently on the market. Thousands more will be making moves a month from now.
This year's cycle will hit at a fascinating moment for the sport, on the morning after the first 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is set. Athletic departments are still working on their revenue sharing plans and budgets for 2025. They have more money to spend this offseason, which also means the cost of player retention and acquisition is going up.
It's too early to make solid projections on which players will put their names in the portal. But one month out, here's what to expect from the evolving transfer marketplace.
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Rev-share era | Buyers
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Entering the revenue sharing era of recruiting
Will this be the craziest transfer portal cycle of all time?
Coaches, personnel staffers and industry sources surveyed by ESPN, on the condition of anonymity so they could speak candidly, are bracing for that possibility but are curious to see just how differently this transfer market plays out as college football prepares for the post-House settlement era of revenue sharing.
The reported projected cap of $20.5 million per school that athletic departments can distribute to student-athletes next year means Power 4 programs that can fully fund revenue sharing could be spending upward of $15 million on their football roster next season. Group of 5 programs are hoping to get to $2-3 million.
What does that mean for the transfer market?
