Wisconsin football’s NIL era downfall had cost; it’s now costing taxpayers

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin football’s struggles to win in the five years since name, image and likeness rules allow athletes to receive compensation have been in effect has led to between $29 million and $68 million less in gameday spending, according to a new analysis from UW-Madison’s Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy.

The report used employment data from Dane County hotels and attendance at Badger home game to extrapolate information on less visitor spending while showing the overall Madison economy did not exhibit an economic downturn independent of the home football games.

Home football attendance dropped from a pre-COVID average of 66,530 fans per game (2006–2019 average) to 56,343 (2021–2025).

The report noted that peer-reviewed research has shown that there are small or null economic effects of sports at the metropolitan level and that gameday l...