With Washington basketball's season set to tip off in just a few days, the second of the Huskies' two revenue sports finds itself in a very similar predicament to the football team. According to a recent report from CBS surveying the roster spending of college basketball programs across the nation, Danny Sprinkle's program ranked last in the Big Ten, spending approximately $5-7 million in NIL on its players.
Fortunately for Sprinkle, he's not the only one on lower campus dealing with these issues.
In the past few months, much has been said about both the football and basketball programs' lack of financial backing, as football coach Jedd Fisch highlighted the issue during a recent press conference. Of the 18 schools in the Big Ten, Husky football ranked No. 13, ahead of only Rutgers, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and Purdue. With the men's basketball team bringing up the rear in spending, the lack of funds highlights a key behind-the-scenes issue on Montlake.
Washington basketball's NIL spend is dead last among Big 10 and SEC teams. https://t.co/TJMDAbQpkO
— Jared Tucker (@jaredetucker) October 21, 2026
Unlike Fisch, Sprinkle has had to rely heavily on the transfer portal to bring in talent to fill out his roster. As for Fisch, he brings a more traditional recruiting approach, emphasizing talent acquisition through the high school ranks and then trying to retain and develop underclassmen. Either way, those strategies cost a pretty penny, and that's something Washington is lacking.
While the debate over the Protect College Sports Act still looms over the college athletics landscape, the passing of the bill would certainly help athletic director Pat Chun, as it would more than double the total amount of money the athletic department can access due to changes in revenue-sharing and money allocation guidelines.
Both in their third year at the helm, Sprinkle holds an overall record of 29-35, while Fisch is currently 16-11 with five games left in the regular season. Despite bringing in a respectable amount of talent into their programs despite the lack of money, both teams have struggled to compete in the upper echelon of the Big Ten.
While dollar signs, or lack thereof, aren't an automatic reflection of wins and losses, a couple more zeroes in the pockets of the UW athletic department certainly wouldn't hurt for a couple of teams struggling to compete at a high level in conference play.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Financial Woes Looms Over Washington's Revenue Sports