NIL bill would cost $14.6M annually for UW-Madison athletics facilities

(The Center Square) – A name, image and likeness bill related to the University of Wisconsin athletics would send $14.6 million in general purpose taxpayer funds to UW-Madison annually for maintenance and debt service on athletics facilities instead of requiring the UW system to pay for 40% of the principal and interest costs.

The payment is part of a bill that also requires athletes to disclose to the school any third-party NIL deals, places restrictions on the content of those deals and also would make those deals exempt from public records.

UW-Madison athletics operated with a $4.3 million surplus in its most recent annual NCAA financial report released last month covering the financial year that ended in June 2025.

Athletic department officials told the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday that football is responsible for 80% of the athletic department’s ...