Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell answers questions during Wisconsin Badgers football media day at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former Wisconsin Badgers administrator proposes idea to make transfer portal system more fair

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Lorin Cox | Last updated Aug 17, 2025 6:55 AM ET

Some college football fans bemoan the transfer portal system because it makes it easier for standout players to leave the programs that developed them.

A former administrator for the Wisconsin Badgers has an interesting idea for how to try and make that more fair.

Sean Frazier was the deputy athletic director at Wisconsin from 2007 to 2013, when he took over as athletic director at Northern Illinois.

His idea would be to implement a transfer fee that schools would pay when they poach a talent from another school, similar to what they have in professional soccer.

"You want to leave? That's okay. How about throwing some money back at the school that developed that individual, so he or she can do that again, so we can make the ecosystem fair?" Frazier said. "You want to come in, talk to our person, poach our player? Make sure you do it legally. Why don't you throw something back into the kidney to help us to continue to develop so we can have an ecosystem that's fair?"

He sees Group of 6 programs like his at a disadvantage, as they can't keep up with the type of financial incentives bigger schools can provide players.

Frazier acknowledged his school ends up serving as more of a developmental program for feeding bigger schools, and he wants them to be compensated for it, in order to keep the system functioning well.

The Badgers have had good luck landing quality talent from outside of the Power 4 conferences.

Tight end Lance Mason looks to be a key contributor on offense coming from FCS Missouri State, and Wisconsin's starting left tackle will be Davis Heinzen from Central Michigan.

Much of Luke Fickell's rebuilt defensive line for this season came from smaller schools, too.

Frazier's proposal would certainly cost the Badgers more, but it could level the playing field for schools in the transfer portal and add an interesting dynamic to the transactions side of college football.