$700,000 to transfer from Boise State? ‘Everybody’s fighting’ new football landscape

Boise State football lost just one starter to the winter transfer portal, but according to head coach Spencer Danielson, it could have been much more.

The only starter to enter the portal was sophomore wide receiver Prince Strachan, who played in 28 games for the Broncos across two years. The window for Boise State players to enter the portal slammed shut at the end of the day Sunday.

But Danielson said Thursday that “at least 14-15 guys” had other schools reaching out and trying to get them to enter the portal.

“Colleges or whoever is calling them, telling them, ‘Hey, if you leave, you’re going to make this’ or ‘this is going to happen to you,’” Danielson said. “That’s happening everywhere, though. That’s an issue that everybody’s fighting.”

Recently retired offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter told Bronco Nation News earlier this week that someone representing Oregon reached out to a Boise State player after the Fiesta Bowl to offer them $700,000 to transfer.

To put that number into perspective, Boise State’s cap for Name, Image, and Likeness spending this past season was just under $2 million, according to Koetter. NIL is the legal ability for college athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness, such as in advertisements and video games.

Danielson said many deals dangled in front of players involve “fake numbers” with “a lot of ambiguity.” Still, he acknowledged that every player who could have entered the portal would have made more money elsewhere.

Koetter also said he’d been in contact with former Boise State offensive analyst Steve Cooper, who was recently hired as the offensive coordinator at UCF. Koetter said Cooper told him that every starting player for Boise State would be worth at least $200,000 — a grand total of $4.4 million.

Another issue is emerging for Danielson and his staff. A proposed settlement in an NCAA case would result in $2.78 billion in revenue-sharing payments to former and current college athletes, and raise the scholarship limit for football teams from 85 to 105.

Raising the scholarship limit is a double-edged sword for Boise State, which could lure more players but also present a money drain. NIL and scholarships work separately — NIL can be taxed while scholarships cannot — but the ability for schools to offer more players better deals could widen the gap between the wealthiest schools in the largest conferences and the rest.

For example, Koetter told Bronco Nation that Cooper said UCF’s NIL budget for the coming year is $12.5 million — over six times more than Boise State’s budget this past year. And that total is before the addition of scholarship money. The Broncos (13-2) won the Mountain West Conference and made it to the College Football Playoff, while UCF finished 4-8 and second-to-last in the Big 12.

Danielson said Boise State is working to reach 105 scholarships but will stick with 85 for now. The team still will have a 105-player roster, but 20 players will remain walk-ons.

“There’s a lot of big-time college football programs that are not going to 105,” Danielson said.

“Our 105 roster will be filled with players that add value to this team if that means they’re on scholarship or they’re walk-ons. Whoever makes this 105 roster starting in the summertime are going to be guys who absolutely can add value to this team.”

Boise State added seven players to its roster from the transfer portal. The most notable of those were a pair of running backs — Malik Sherrod from Fresno State and Keyjuan Brown from Louisville. They will vie to help fill the void of departed junior running back Ashton Jeanty, who declared for the 2025 NFL Draft earlier this week after a historic season.