They started the game off with a pick-six, one of four defensive takeaways on the afternoon. The first teamers were so dominant that they scored 35 points in the first quarter and another 24 points in the second.

By the time QB Drake Lindsey, S Koi Perich, EDGE Anthony Smith and the rest of Minnesota’s starters were pulled from the contest, the score was 49-0 and there was still over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. The Gophers slowed their role offensively, from there, but still shut out the Demons 66-0.

Victory highlights with your Sunday morning coffee 😌☕️#RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers pic.twitter.com/K4YklFDBvJ

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) September 7, 2025

Of course, a power four school with CFP aspirations is supposed to blowout their early-season FCS opponent, and Northwestern State is considered the bottom of the barrell, even at that level. Nonetheless, taking care of business is easier said than done sometimes, so winning by 66 points deserves praise.

This is a different age of college football, though. And when you look at the compensation of each roster, you quickly realize why these kinds of matchups will become mostly obsolete in the future.

Expanded Minnesota Gophers NIL budget for football paying dividends

In all likelihood, Northwestern State doesn’t have an NIL budget at all. If they are able to offer some side cash to help pay for food and rent, they’d be doing more than most of their FCS competitors.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Gophers’ Name Image and Likeness fund for football has exploded over the past few years, on top of the $21 million they are now paying student athletes out of their athletic budget in 2025.

How much, you ask? Well they aren’t yet to the $35 million that the Ohio States of the world have at their disposal, but on top of their new revenue sharing allotment, they could be getting close.

According to Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) — who’s arguably more plugged-in to deep-pocketed U of M donors than any other reporter in town — the 2025 Golden Gophers football team is operating under a player budget “in the $15 million range”.

The revenue-sharing name, image and likeness (NIL) cost for reigning national football champion Ohio State players this season reportedly is $35 million. Player payroll for the Gophers, who play at Ohio State on Oct. 4, is in the $15 million range.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

Related: Rival Schools Coming for PJ Fleck and Gophers AD Knows It

This number likely does not include NIL money, however. It’s been reported multiple places over the past few months that the Gophers are using about 70-75% of their ($21M) revshare money to pay football players, which is approximately $15 million, the amount mentioned by Walters.

If we include the millions being paid to football players in separate Name, Image and Likeness dollars, or if Walters is referencing NIL money (not rev share) in his article, that would left the Gophers’ total player budget exponentially higher.

The PJ Fleck radio rant that’ll live in MN Gophers history books

Back in 2022-2023, the Minnesota Golden Gophers lost running back Bucky Irving to Oregon via the transfer portal, after the Ducks came calling with Nike money that PJ Fleck and a small group of Dinkytown donors couldn’t compete with in their wildest dreams.

That was when Minnesota’s head coach went on KFAN radio, where he pleaded for fans to send their hard-earned dollars to the Gophers’ licensed NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes.

Fleck warned that, if NIL donations didn’t start coming in hand over fist, we’d all be left watching the football program devolve into a minor league feeder system for bigger schools to come and pluck their best talent year in and year out.

“So, if we wanna keep players, all these guys we have, they won’t be here next year [if we don’t get more NIL money to pay them]. Just making sure everybody understands. [That] our fans [understand]. [Our best players] won’t be here. So we’ll be a Triple-A ball club for somebody else. That is the reality and the truth of the situation. So please, contact Dinkytown Athletes…”

PJ Fleck – KFAN Radio (9/26/23)

Related: Gophers Star Avoids Serious Health Scare in Rout

From that point forward, money started pouring in to help support Gopher football. And now, Minnesota has been able to keep guys like Darius Taylor, Anthony Smith and Koi Perich, who are all being paid handsomely to wear maroon and gold.

No doubt, that speech on 100,000 watt sports radio will go down as one of the most important moments in Gopher sports history. Without it, there would be no hometown warm fuzzies with Koi or darts being thrown around the field by Drake Lindsey.

Instead of dreaming of the CFP, we’d be happy to reach bowl eligibility every few seasons, while Huntington Bank Stadium became a desolate, empty wasteland. Are we Ohio State or Oregon? No, and we never will be, as long as there’s no salary cap in power four college football.

These days, however, patience is not a virtue in college athletics. The transfer portal, combined with the yearly distribution of $100s of millions in Name, Image and Likeness money allows the right coach, in the right situation to turn over a team and change the future faster than ever before.

That is especially true in basketball, where one or two big time talents can be the difference between dancing and sitting home in March. And there might not be a men’s college basketball program and fanbase more desperate to see a change in fortune than the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

So, how are the new head coach and his AD going to turn things around in Dinkytown? By infusing it with a bunch of cash to pay players, through (a) an increase in NIL funding, along with (b) new revshare money that is about to flip college sports upside down.

But the question remains… how much money will they really have to spend and will it be competitive in the Big Ten? Well, that picture continues to come more and more into focus.

Larger than normal revshare split for Minnesota Gophers MBB

On July 1, all power five universities will get the green light to allocate $20.5 million of their yearly athletic budget to pay their college athletes, however they see fit. Just like most major Universities, the largest split of Minnesota’s revshare allowance (75%) will go to football.

But part of luring Niko Medved back to his home state was a commitment from Mark Coyle that the University of Minnesota would allocate more of that revenue split to men’s basketball than most other power five schools.

Related: Gophers MBB Searching for Another High Caliber Opponent

According to Chip Scoggins (Star Tribune), that commitment means Golden Gophers men’s basketball is expected to get 15% of the total $20.5 million, or $3.075 million. That amount alone would be 3X more than the NIL budget Johnson had to spend last year (see below). What’s left will be dispersed between women’s basketball, men’s hockey and volleyball.

Revenue-sharing models with other Big Ten and SEC schools show football taking priority, with 75% or more of the $20.5 million going to football players, a likely percentage for the Gophers…which could mean a 15% allocation of revenue sharing (or $3.075 million) to that sport.

Of the remaining 10% — $2.5 million — 5% is expected to go to women’s basketball, while men’s hockey and volleyball would split the final 5%.

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

Niko Medved promises bigger commitment to raising NIL funds

Last year, we know that Ben Johnson’s Gophers doled out right around $1 million in total NIL dollars, possibly less, depending on which report you believe. Either way, that number was up substantially from 2023-24. In other words, NIL was a struggle for Johnson from the very beginning.

Immediately after he was hired, Niko hit the recruiting trail. Not just for talent, but for NIL dollars too. Unlike his predecessor, Niko Medved understands the importance of NIL fundraising. If you don’t have money to pay players, you won’t be able to bring in talent. It’s really that simple.

How much NIL money were Coyle and Medved hoping to raise? In that same Star Tribune article earlier this month, from what Scoggins was hearing via “Gopher officials”, it was in the $2-3 million range, depending on how fruitful their fundraising efforts were. The hope was to accumulate $5-6 million for their total player budget next season.

And, per longtime local columnist Patrick Reusse (Star Tribune) — who would 100% know, based on his many connections within the Gopher men’s program — Medved & Co’s NIL endeavors have been extremely successful, producing near the peak of projections, or about $3 million.

Minnesota Gophers new men’s basketball player budget revealed

In total, that puts the Minnesota’s men’s basketball player budget for the 2025-26 season at the high side of previous projections, “in the neighborhood of $6 million”, writes Reusse — or 6X more than what Ben Johnson had at his disposal last year.

Medved will turn 52 in August. He has 12 seasons as the coach in charge. He is starting off with those experience advantages over Johnson, and also a program in which the AD is fully invested.

The Gophers now have a marginally competitive amount of dollars to spend on talent — in the neighborhood of $6 million (not stated directly by Medved).

Patrick Reusse – Star Tribune

If Reusse is correct (which I trust he is) then after months of talking, it appears both Coyle and Medved have delivered on their promises to infuse Minnesota Gophers basketball with cash that Ben Johnson could never even dream of, just one year ago.

After four years of Big Ten basement dwelling, Coyle hand-picked Medved as the savior of this program. There was no long hiring process, no search firm. Coyle knew who he wanted and he did not hesitate. Now, he has doubled down on that hire with cold hard cash.

Related: Niko Medved, Gophers Add 4-Star UNC Transfer Commit

As long as the House settlement goes through, as expected on July 1, we should see (in theory) a roster that is 6X better than what we saw out of Gophers basketball teams in recent seasons.

With all that being said, Niko has no excuses at his disposal, even in his first year. He’s already been loaded up with far more advantages in today’s college sports landscape than the previous coach ever had. Because of that, being new isn’t a worthy excuse for failure.

It was Ben’s third losing season in four years as men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. The moment they returned from Indianapolis, where they lost to Northwestern in their first game of the Big Ten Tournament, Johnson was fired by athletic director Mark Coyle.

While Johnson was head coach at the U of M, the basketball program struggled to keep up with its peers, mostly due to a lack of NIL (name, image, and likeness) funding. As head coach, a lot of that blame should fall on Ben Johnson. He failed to adapt in the new wild west-style NIL landscape, and paid the price with his job.

Minnesota Gophers NIL fund laughably low

Roughly a year ago it was reported that the Minnesota Gophers were working with roughly $1 million in NIL funds last season, a number dramatically lower than most power five programs.

But if you believe Pioneer Press columnist and plugged-in Gophers MBB insider, Charley Walters, that $1M number was quite generously rounded up from what he is now reporting to be just $700,000. Of that $700K, Dawson Garcia reportedly took up $500K all by himself.

“A little birdie said the Gophers men’s basketball name, image and likeness (NIL) budget this season —lowest in the Big Ten — was in the $700,000 range, of which Dawson Garcia got $500,000.”

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

Of course, the homegrown kid from Prior Lake Dawson Garcia was far and away the best player on Minnesota’s roster since Ben Johnson arrived. The homegrown kid from Prior Lake, reportedly turned down offers of $1 million or more, to enter the portal, something he did twice (Marquette –> UNC –> Minnesota) before finding his way back home in 2022.

So this is not an article about Garcia taking up too much of the Gophers’ 2024-25 NIL money. This is about Johnson’s program being dirt poor, from an NIL standpoint. Ben was just lucky Dawson was willing to give him a 50% discount.

Garcia averaged a career-best 19.2 points per game this past season, which ranked 6th in the Big Ten. Across 32 games, he shot 47.4% from the field (37.3% 3PT) and grabbed 7.5 boards per game. He’s legitimately one of the better players to ever dawn maroon and gold… and nobody will remember it, because of four sunk years under his head coach.

💥 31 PTS
💥 13-19 FG
💥 6 REB
💥 3 BLK

Dawson Garcia recorded his 5th straight 20+ point game in @GopherMBB's upset over No. 15 Oregon 😤#B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/UrspRhvAkt

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 26, 2025

Where does Gophers NIL budget grow from here?

With Johnson out and Niko Medved taking over the program, following a first round win in the 2024-25 NCAA tournament as head coach of Colorado State, the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program has vowed to become a more serious program under their new head coach, and that starts with NIL funding.

Chatter behind the scenes has the University of Minnesota NIL budget set to increase by over a million dollars, in his first year alone. On top of that, the Gophers are expected to dedicate $3-5 million of their expected NCAA revenue share settlement money ($20+ million total) on men’s basketball.

Related: Colorado State Forward Commits to MN Gophers

That is expected to be more than what other schools in the Big Ten will commit to MBB, at least from a revenue sharing standpoint. If everything falls into place, between new NIL and revenue sharing money, Medved could have quite the vehicle help land and keep college basketball talent we haven’t seen in this town in years… possibly decades.

As was the case with Ben Johnson, it’s up to Niko Medved to generate fan excitement and financial support for his new Minnesota Gophers MBB program. But unlike the head coach he’s replacing, Niko seems much more up for all of the tasks and responsibilities included with being a head basketball coach of a major D1 program, both now and moving forward.

After briefly easing some of the pressure with that win streak, Ben Johnson’s seat is scorching hot again. But he does have one classic excuse, that he doesn’t have enough NIL money to work with. Is that an excuse or is it his fault? You can argue that. There’s no debating the actual problem, however.

Check Out: How to Watch March Madness in 2025

Minnesota basketball needs to find more NIL money ASAP

According to longtime Pioneer Press columnist Charley Walters, the Gophers are still way behind when it comes to NIL money. He reports that the average top 25 college basketball team spends around $4 million per season on its roster.

The Gophers, meanwhile, aren’t even shelling out a third of that. One big problem with the Minnesota Gophers current NIl situation is that they do not have an agent to help facilitate and secure top recruits.

Meanwhile, the NIL price tag for a top-25 team now is in the $4 million a year range, and the Gophers aren’t close to even a third of that. What Minnesota doesn’t have is an agent who can deliver impact players to the program.

Charley Walters – PionnerPress

Last season, the Gophers had a solid squad, featuring freshman Cam Christie. He’s now with the LA Clippers. But, they lost a lot of key players to the transfer portal. Pharrel Payne, a Cottage Grove native, took a $40,000-per-month NIL deal to play at Texas A&M.

Standout point guard Elijah Hawkins is making $30,000 a month at Texas Tech. Isaiah Ihnen is putting up 10.4 points per game as a starter for Liberty. Homegrown Braeden Carrington is one of the best players at Tulsa and Brooklyn Park’s own Joshua Ola-Joseph is averaging 7.6 points in 18.1 minutes per game for California.

The Gophers program need’s an NIL agent

The Gophers caught a huge break this season by managing to keep their best player, Dawson Garcia. He wasn’t in it for the money, he just wanted one more season with his hometown team. But in today’s world of college sports, that kind of loyalty won’t last forever.

The Gophers need to start adapting, and that could mean making a change at head coach first. Minnesota has nine games left, and every single one matters as they fight for a spot in the Big Ten tournament, which only takes the top 15 of 18 teams.

Related: Gopher Basketball’s Dawson Garcia Crowned by Big Ten After Huge Week

If they fall short, I’d be shocked if Johnson keeps his job, but at the end of the day, time will tell. That said, changing head coaches won’t mean much if the program doesn’t give him the right resources and funding to succeed.

The 5th-year senior was hot right from the tip and never cooled off — going 7-of-8 from the field in the 1st half (3-of-3 from 3PT) and finishing 11-of-14 (4-of-5 from 3PT). Oral Roberts doesn’t have any way to slow down a guy like Garcia when he’s on.

Minnesota point forward Dawson Garcia had 30 points 8 rebs vs Oral Roberts

11/14 FG and 4/5 from long range pic.twitter.com/Si6ZadxPGh

— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) November 7, 2024

When the dust settled, the Golden Gophers won 80-57 on the back of Dawson’s 30 points on 79% shooting (80% from 3PT) and 8 rebounds. If there were any questions surrounding how dominant the 6-11, 230 lb kid from Prior Lake can be in his final collegiate season, they were answered earlier this week.

Dawson Garcia turned down huge NIL offers to play for Minnesota Gophers

But don’t get it twisted, other programs in the Big Ten and around the country knew the season Dawson Garcia was sitting on, this summer. And much like they did with his 2023-24 teammates, big money NIL programs tried their best to lure the hometown hero away from the University of Minnesota.

Unlike Elijah Hawkins and Pharrel Payne, though, Garcia has already been around the national block a time or two. He started his college career at Marquette, before transferring to the University of North Carolina. And Dawson saw early success at both stops, but decided to come home before his first season as a Tar Heel really got going.

According to Pioneer Press Andy Greder’s sources, Garcia is getting $500,000 this season in NIL deals, from his hometown Minnesota Gophers and Dinkytown Athletes. That may seem like a lot, until you find out he was offered double ($1 million) from other schools.

Sources told the Pioneer Press that Garcia turned down a couple of NIL paydays from other schools worth roughly $1 million — including from some traditional powerhouse programs — to remain at Minnesota for approximately $500,000.

Andy Greder – Pioneer Press

Related: Minnesota Gophers HC Ben Johnson Makes Dreaded MBB Hot Seat List

First, I’d like to note that it doesn’t really matter all the reasoning behind Dawson’s decision to remain a Gopher. Ben Johnson, myself and the rest of Gopher nation are all eternally grateful that he did. Without him, Minnesota would not stand a chance in the Big Ten this year.

NIL should not be this big of a problem for Ben Johnson

What frustrates me, and what should bother Dawson Garcia deep down, is that he should not have to take a 50% discount to stay at the University of Minnesota. The basketball program, combined with the efforts of Dinkytown Athletes, should have been able to provide him, and others who decided to take the money and leave, near equal NIL deals to stay.

Entering his fifth collegiate season, Garcia, an all-Big Ten performer, had other suitors for this year but remained loyal to Minnesota. He wasn’t swayed by big dollar signs.

Andy Greder – Pioneer Press

Unfortunately, while other programs were building up their NIL bank accounts the past couple of years, Ben Johnson mostly ignored NIL for far too long, which set the Gopher men’s basketball team way back. Now, Minnesota is a feeder program for those that have money.

Don’t blame the kids. We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. Money most of us would up and leave Minnesota for, in an instant. Hometown heroes like Dawson Garcia and Pharrel Payne shouldn’t have to choose money over the Gophers.

Related: Minnesota Gophers MBB Lands 3-Star Prospect Out of California

We’ve seen PJ Fleck build up the football program’s NIL funds to the point that they can keep pretty much any player they want. In reality, there’s no reason why basketball should be any different.

If I’m Dawson Garcia, I consider my bank account half as full as it should be, because my head coach wasn’t quick enough to change with the times. If that makes him mad… hopefully he shows it on the basketball court.

In a college sports world that revolves around NIL deals, life at Minnesota has been difficult for Ben, who was hired due to his recruiting prowess in an age of NCAA basketball that no longer exists; back when most players weren’t being paid and those who were, were doing it under the table.

Minnesota Gophers Men’s Basketball NIL Budget Has Doubled

But now, according to Charley Walters (Pioneer Press), the Gophers men’s basketball program has made some progress in improving its standing in the NIL world. Walters reports that Ben Johnson’s NIL budget now stands at one million dollars, an improvement from what he reported just over a month ago.

A little birdie says the Gophers men’s basketball program’s NIL budget from last year has nearly doubled to $1 million this year.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

This is some welcomed good news for the Gophers, which has struggled to find the type of NIL support that the football team has. Back in May, Walters reported that the Gophers basketball NIL budget was at just $625,000, significantly less than some other Big Ten schools, some of which have budgets that are four times larger.

.@GopherMBB having its third summer workout today after starting last week. A lot of new faces, but the #Gophers are led by the returning core of Dawson Garcia, Parker Fox and Mike Mitchell Jr. @FOX9 pic.twitter.com/lGDRd3tNVe

— Jeff Wald (@JeffWaldFox9) June 17, 2024

Obviously, those problems are not dead and other schools around the country are boosting their NIL budgets every season too, but it’s at least a step in the right direction. Hopefully, this will allow Minnesota MBB to get better talent into Dinkytown and keep it here.

Related: Gopher Basketball Boosters Aiming to Raise $1 Million in NIL Money

Johnson has had an offseason of transfer portal cleanup, so far. But he was able to keep Dawson Garcia around and he’s managed to bring in a few transfers from the portal to fill the gaps left by the departure of key players like Cam Christie, Elijah Hawkins and Pharrel Payne.

Additionally, there are a couple of talented freshmen entering the fray, including top-100 recruit Isaac Asuma (Cherry HS, MN), who should be able to contribute immediately as a freshman. I don’t want to say that Ben Johnson needs a good season to save his job… but that’s certainly how it feels.

Minnesota Gophers athletes will soon be paid ~$21 million by U of M

According to Chip Scoggins (Star Tribune), U of M athletic director Mark Coyle and the Board of Regents are preparing to pay Gophers athletes a total of ~$21 million per year, payments that could start being dispersed as soon as fall 2025.

…the Gophers will start paying their athletes, if the new system gains approval… that move would cost the athletic department a projected $21 million annually.

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

But not every U of M athlete is going to see a portion of that cash. Most of the money is likely be paid out to football players, which makes sense since football is the only sport on campus that generates significant amounts of revenue.

Gopher football makes the money, so their players will get paid

Last year, for example, the University of Minnesota athletic department generated a total of $102 million in operating revenue. $77.2 million of that (about $75%) came from the football team. Closest to football was men’s basketball, which brought in $17.4 million. From there, it goes to men’s hockey ($5.8 million), then women’s volleyball ($1.3 million).

According to Scoggins, the only thing left to be figured out is how they will pay mostly football players (and a little bit to men’s basketball probably) when Title IX says that money needs to go to every student athlete on campus? Well, let’s just say that is about to be worked out in court.

College leaders are waiting for direction on how this new revenue-sharing system will mix with the principles of Title IX. This is a critical piece in understanding how that $21 million gets distributed. Will schools be required to split athlete payments evenly between male and female athletes? The many Title IX-related questions likely will be answered in court.

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

Chip won’t say it, but Title IX will likely be thrown out of high level college athletics. Title IX only existed because athletes were not being paid like professionals. With that changing, it only makes sense that Title IX will go by the wayside.

Once the Title IX thing is figured out, and that $21 million is allocated to each team accordingly (mostly football), each program that receives funding will get to decide how they go about spending it on talent. In other words, PJ Fleck will operate as the football team’s GM. Unless, of course, he and Coyle decide to hire someone else for that role.

Coyle said disbursement responsibility will fall to coaches or possibly a newly created position. “What does our department look like a year from now?” Coyle said. “Do we have to hire a GM-type of person?

Chip Scoggins – Star Tribune

This money will not be related to NIL. In fact, this is the beginning of the fix for the wild west world of NIL that is trying to ruin college athletics. Pretty soon, NIL contracts will be nothing more than “sponsorship deals”, just like they were prior to this “Name, Image and Likeness” era.

Recently, the University of Memphis received a substantial contribution from FedEx (headquartered in Memphis). worth a landmark $25 million and there is belief that it will change the NIL landscape, possibly giving it a much more corporate feel going forward.

Minnesota Gophers want to get Fortune 500 NIL Deal for big money

This is the reality of college athletics, for now, which is why Athletic Director Mark Coyle and the University of Minnesota are reportedly pursuing their own version of a ‘FedEx deal’ with one of the many Fortune 500 companies that calls this state home.

According to what the Gophers told Marcus Fuller (Star Tribune), they’ve hired someone paid by Learfield, their “official rights holder” to engage local Fortune 500 companies in hopes of landing new NIL money to pay for more talent.

The new employee’s name is Brett Schreiner and his title is “Senior Manager, Business Development-NIL”. He and Mark Coyle sat down with Fuller to discuss his new role within the U of M Athletic Department.

Schreiner was fundraising on the university’s academic side before taking on his new role as senior manager, business development-NIL. He works for Learfield, the official rights holder for the Gophers and hundreds of other collegiate programs. The Gophers were the 13th program within Learfield’s national footprint to hire someone for an NIL-specific job.

“We’re trying to kind of be on the cutting edge with this role,” Schreiner said. “We’re trying to work with a lot of companies to make NIL more important to them.”

Marcus Fuller – Star Tribune

Schreiner shared that the university is collaborating with numerous companies in their efforts to elevate their NIL budget. This endeavor is likely challenging, even considering longstanding partnerships with major local companies like 3M.

Related: Gray Duck + Dinkytown Athletes Partnership Forecasting $1M/Yr in NIL Contributions

Yes, those internationally known companies have been partnering with the Gophers for years, but that’s never been in the NIL sphere. 3M, for example, is already in business with the university.

They own naming rights to Mariucci Arena for the next decade. Still, none of that money goes toward paying student athletes. With some adjustments to their contract, though, that could potentially shift.

In 2017, 3M announced a 14-year, $11.2 million Gophers athletics naming rights sponsorship with the Mariucci hockey arena. NIL is completely different, but the Gophers have talked to 3M about giving.

“3M and the University of Minnesota have had a strong relationship for nearly 100 years and our involvement in Gopher Athletics is one piece of a larger partnership,” 3M spokesman Mike Laninga said. “The Gopher athletic department was very helpful in explaining how the NIL process works and how to properly engage if we chose to do so.”

StarTribune

Schreiner is looking for something bigger – he envisions local companies that are not just committed, but truly dedicated to being a partner with Gopher athletics. This move marks a positive stride for the university, IF they can get one or two of these deals done. An influx of, say, $20 million could change everything.

Amidst the setbacks, Ben is trying to backfill with as much talent as he possibly can. But in a recruiting world that cares more about the bottom dollar than it does player/coach relationships, that’s a much more difficult task than it might seem.

Ben Johnson, Minnesota Gophers land Macalester phenom Caleb Williams

But recently, the Minnesota Gophers landed a commitment from Caleb Williams, a standout point guard from Macalester College in St. Paul, one of the better players Division III basketball ‘in the country last season.

He averaged 20 points, 4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last season, a comparable statline to his career at Macalester. You might recall Williams from his impressive exhibition performance at Williams Arena against the Gophers last season, where he scored a shocking 41 points.

Highlights from former Wildcat Caleb Williams’ 41 point performance against D1 Minnesota pic.twitter.com/0h2T34W1Fx

— Wild Rose Boys Basketball (@wildrose_bball) November 3, 2023

How much NIL money was needed for Gophers to land Caleb Williams?

NIL has become a pivotal aspect of recruiting in today’s college basketball scene and recent reports indicate that the Gophers basketball program is struggling with limited resources to attract top talent. It’s a serious problem that Ben Johnson must get figured out, if he wants to keep his job.

Lucky for the 3-year head coach, Caleb Williams was willing to jump across the river and play with the Gophers for free. According to Charley Walter of the Pioneer Press, Williams simply felt at ease and preferred to remain close to home. Merry Christmas, Ben.

Incoming Gophers guard Caleb Williams, the 6-2 transfer who on Saturday was to graduate from Macalester with a double-major in mathematics and physics, is considering a masters program emphasizing mathematics and business for his final season at Minnesota. He had several transfer opportunities out of the NCAA portal.

“When I was on campus, everybody I talked to was really down to earth, and that made it easy to make a decision,” said Williams, 22, who scored 41 points against the Gophers in an exhibition game last season. “You automatically trust the people you’re talking to — it was a sense of comfort. And, wanting to stay home. It’s a great area and great basketball state.”

A NIL deal isn’t expected to be part of Williams’ transfer.

Charley Walters reporting on Minnesota Gophers transfer Caleb Williams

While it’s hard to know how talent from the DIII level will translate, I have no doubt that Williams did have plenty of power-4 options out of the portal, and at least a few probably had decent NIL opportunities. So if Ben Johnson was able to get him for free, then all the better.

Related: Gophers Receive Transfer Commitment from Oregon Guard

And according to Ryan James (247Sports), Caleb is an even better person than he is basketball player. He gets good grades and he’ll do the team’s laundry, if that is what’s required of him.

As good as Williams is on the floor, he’s even better off the floor.  This is a young man who did the team laundry after games and after practice.  He was named an Academic All-American for the second year in a row by the College Sports Communicators. Williams was included on the third team this year and was a first team selection a year ago. Caleb was a physics and mathematics double major at Macalester with a 3.94 grade point average through the Fall 2023 semester.

Ryan James – 247Sports

Unfortunately, Caleb’s commitment doesn’t solve the overarching problem that faces this men’s basketball program, which is an extremely limited NIL budget. An NIL budget that is reportedly four times smaller than that of Purdue and Illinois.

Ben may be proving himself nimble, given his available funds. Williams isn’t the only NIL worthy college basketball player that he has gotten for free (the other is NIL ineligible).

Related: Charlotte PG Lu’Cye Patterson Transferring to Hometown Gophers

So, congrats Ben. You secured a (hopefully) underrated talent out of the portal, for free. What a coup. Now, find some more money so you can pay to put some better pieces alongside Caleb, Dawson Garcia and Parker Fox. It’s a pivotal moment in Minnesota men’s basketball history, and in Johnson’s coaching tenure.

Payne has opted to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M, while Hawkins has chosen Texas Tech. This means both players won’t be wearing maroon and gold jerseys next season.

In today’s world of college sports, transferring has become increasingly common. Many athletes are drawn to the possibility of greater financial rewards or a more lucrative NIL deal elsewhere. In his latest column, Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) revealed some intriguing numbers, making it no shock in why they decided to transfer.

Former Minnesota Gophers, Pharrel Payne and Elijah Hawkins are making NIL bank with new teams

Pharrel Payne, originally from Cottage Grove, has long been touted for his promising talent during his time with the Gophers. Now, he’s set to take his skills to Texas A&M, marking a significant step in his athletic journey. According to Walters, Payne is poised to earn a hefty $40,000 monthly salary… and a Mercedes.

Hawkins caused quite a stir when he suddenly revealed his decision to transfer, just a week after affirming his commitment to staying for another season with the Gophers. Almost as quickly as he made his announcement, he committed to Texas A&M, and it’s no surprise that he’s expected to receive a hefty financial package there too.

There’s buzz that ex-Gopher Pharrel Payne will get $40,000 a month over two years in NIL money from Texas A&M, plus use of a new Mercedes automobile. Another Gophers transfer, Elijah Hawkins, reportedly is getting $30,000 from Texas Tech.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

It’s becoming clearer as Walters disclosed the NIL budget for the Gophers, revealing it’s only a quarter of what the top schools in the Big Ten, like Illinois and Purdue, have at a hefty $2.5 million.

Related: Charlotte PG Lu’Cye Patterson Transferring to Hometown Gophers

And if you’re interested in delving deeper into that topic, you can find more information here. However, it’s clear that Ben Johnson is currently facing a significant loss of talent on his own team, and he needs to find a solution quickly in the NIL world.