Head coach Adrian Autry said in early March that he believed Syracuse basketball would be more prepared to succeed in the transfer portal this off-season as compared to a year ago, in large part due to the recruiting prowess of general manager Alex Kline.
Another factor, I imagine, is the Orange's name, image and likeness ("NIL") budget for the program. I don't have specific numbers, but anecdotally speaking, it appears that the 'Cuse has greater NIL resources for the 2025-26 season than it did in 2024-25.
To that end, Syracuse.com's Mike Waters, a Hall of Fame writer, spoke with Autry this week about Syracuse basketball and NIL. Mike's piece is a subscriber-exclusive, and I'll always respect his work, but what I will say is that Autry believes his team is competitive in the NIL space, as it pertains to recruiting via the transfer portal as well as player retention and at the prep level.
Ahead of the 2025-26 term, as the Orange eyes returning to the NCAA Tournament after a four-year absence, the 'Cuse currently has 13 scholarship players, the maximum allowed by the NCAA unless the House settlement is approved, which could increase the scholarship limit to 15.
Syracuse basketball is competitive with its NIL, Adrian Autry says.
The team's 2025-26 line-up includes key returnees J.J. Starling, a guard, and Donnie Freeman, a power forward, along with six college transfers and five high school commits. When I wrote this article, on the 247Sports Web site, the Orange's 2025 recruiting class was No. 10 at the prep level, No. 33 via the portal and No. 18 overall.
While specifics aren't necessarily available in the public domain, one can logically assume that the 'Cuse NIL budgt for 2025-26 was solid, given that Starling and Freeman are returning, along with the other college transfers and high school players coming in, such as 2025 four-stars Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White Jr., as well as Georgia Tech point guard Naithan George and Oregon State wing Nate Kingz.
Also, let's not forget that Syracuse basketball is expected to compete in a lucrative, NIL-driven event in Las Vegas later this year, and assuming the House settlement is approved, SU Athletics has said it will spend the maximum cap of roughly $20.5 million in direct revenue-sharing with its athletes in 2025-26.
Plus, SU Athletics announced earlier this year that it has launched a three-year, $50 million fund-raising campaign that will focus on player attraction and retention. My point with all of this is that Syracuse basketball, football and other sports should be competitive in NIL.
Then again, a report from 247Sports came out earlier this week stating that fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school North Carolina has more than $14 million in NIL for the upcoming season, which is a massive number.
I don't know for sure, but it's likely that Syracuse basketball's NIL budget for 2025-26 is nowhere close to $14 million. Then again, UNC is a blue-blood program, so maybe comparing the Orange's NIL spending to the Tar Heels' is a silly thing to do.
Let's see how the 'Cuse fares on the court this fall and into next year. To me, it's not about how big of an NIL budget the Orange has, per se. It's whether Syracuse basketball can return to its winning ways.