Has NIL Removed the "Madness" from March's NCAA Basketball Tournament?

By: Jonathan Karas

April 25th, 2025

Photo Credit: Getty Images

For the second time in the history of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, all four #1 regional seeds reached the Final Four (Duke, Houston, Auburn, and Florida). Even though these were four of the best teams in the country, and possibly ever, with each ranking inside the top 10 rated teams ever by KenPom (Sports Illustrated), we evidently very rarely see more than a few actually reach the Final Four. In fact, it was actually more recent that ZERO one-seeds all made it (2011) - than the last time all four did (2008). Not only did the four #1’s make the Final Four, but the Elite 8 consisted of all 1’s, three #2 seeds, and one #3 seed. With all of this said, was this just a year where the top teams were historically good, or is the ever-prevalent concept of NIL behind this all? Let’s discuss. 

As many have come to know, NIL (and the transfer portal) has taken over the landscape of college sports. Now more than ever, teams are able to operate almost like professional teams, swapping players out left and right like it’s nothing. Take Michigan for example. Last season, the Wolverines went 8-24, last in the B1G. They then hired former FAU coach Dusty May, who brought in an entirely new starting 5 and catapulted the Wolverines to going 27-10, winning the B1G tournament, and making it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen in March Madness. Michigan is one of countless examples of the new way college teams are operating. It is no longer your dad’s team of guys who stay and play for four years. If you aren’t cutting it, you will be cut. With schools allowed to pay players through NIL collectives, the biggest programs can essentially buy the best rosters via recruiting and/or the transfer portal. 

Let’s look at each of the Final Four teams and what their rosters are made up of. For Duke, they obviously took full advantage of the new NIL/transfer portal rules. They added a few of the best recruits in the country, using their boundless funds as a blue blood program to help entice guys like Cooper Flagg (projected no. 1 pick in upcoming NBA draft), Kon Knueppel (projected lottery pick), Khaman Maluach (lottery), among others to commit. They also added key transfers in Sion James (Tulane), Maliq Brown (Syracuse), and more to bolster their roster. Ultimately, Duke returned just two meaningful players from their 2024 Elite 8 roster. 

Two of Houston’s best starters came from the transfer portal in LJ Cryer (though it was 2023) and also Milos Uzan who came in this year from Oklahoma. Auburn was also active in the portal/NIL. Johni Broome, a finalist for National Player of the Year, was a previous top transfer from Morehead State, as well as starting guard Denver Jones who came from FAU. 

The National Champion Florida Gators have the new rules to thank as well for their title. All-American point guard Walter Clayton Jr. was a top transfer last year from Iona. Florida also got a ton of help from transfer starters Alijah Martin (FAU) and Rueben Chinyelu (Washington State) en route to their title. As you can see, the Final Four teams all took full advantage of these new rules on their respective runs to the top.

While the top-end, blue blood programs like those who reached the Final Four this year will always tend to get the best players, mid-majors are really starting to feel their losses. An SB Nation article described what’s beginning to happen with these new rules perfectly. “Take the CAA [Coastal Athletic Conference], for example: of the 15 players who found themselves on the CAA’s all-conference teams in 2025, 11 have another year of eligibility. Eight of those 11 have entered the portal, along with the conference’s Rookie of the Year and the entirety of the CAA’s All-Defensive team.” (SB Nation). Essentially, whenever a player makes a name for themself in a smaller conference, they bolt instantly to a major conference team. I don’t know if we will ever see someone like Steph Curry, who played all three of his collegiate seasons at mid-major Davidson and even took them to an Elite 8. Today, he’d probably bolt to a Duke or Kansas. 

Furthermore, with these rules being so new, there are few restrictions or penalties in place. When a team loses their star player, like Walter Clayton leaving Iona for Florida, or Johni Broome leaving Morehead for Auburn, Iona and Morehead do not get any kind of compensation AT ALL. “The worst part? There’s no clear way up the totem pole. When a player leaves, the school that loses them receives nothing — no compensation of any kind. For those of you who have read or seen Moneyball, it’s kind of like the Oakland A’s losing Jason Giambi to the Yankees, except it happens every single year” (SB Nation). Mid-majors in modern college basketball essentially have to recognize a diamond in the rough and make a run in year one, or they will likely never get a chance to run it back with said player. 

With all of this said, while it can’t be stated for certain, what we saw in this year’s tournament really could be a sign of things to come. No mid-major magic, all chalk, four #1 seeds in the Final Four. Some like the best of the best going at it on the biggest stage, but many others yearn for the bracket-busting upsets that we’ve all grown accustomed to every single year. While NIL and the new transfer portal rules are a good thing for the student athletes, they may have just turned March Madness into, well, just March.