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Dan 'Big Cat' Katz says he'll fork over money for Wisconsin to land big-time QB

"Big Cat" graduated from Wisconsin in 2007.
Joe Nelson|
Dan \"Big Cat\" Katz, Barstool Sports Rough N Rowdy Boxing in Providence
Dan \"Big Cat\" Katz, Barstool Sports Rough N Rowdy Boxing in Providence | Eric Rueb/Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Wisconsin Badgers

It's Barstool Sports so it's hard to tell if he's serious, but after Dave Portnoy said he'd pay $3 million to facilitate NIL money for his Michigan Wolverines to find a high-end quarterback in the transfer portal, his colleague, Dan "Big Cat" Katz, said he would do the same for his Wisconsin Badgers.

"I'm going to get us a top-10 quarterback in the portal coming out every year," Portnoy said on Pardon My Take.

"OK, I'm interested in maybe doing this for the Badgers, too," Katz responded. "Yeah, you know what? I'm in."

NIL laws vary by state and Wisconsin doesn't have anything in place to prohibit athletes from taking advantage of the NCAA's current setup. That means that a businessman like Portnoy or Katz could legally pay an athlete to sponsor their product and play for a specific team.

Are they actually serious? Who knows for sure, but the idea of buying a quarterback in the transfer portal was a big talking point on Thursday after UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced that he's not going to play after claiming that he didn't receive $100,000 that he was promised by an assistant coach when he opted to transfer there.

Sluka going for $100,000 is pocket change compared to the $3 million Portnoy claims he's willing to deliver as an NIL sponsor for a QB. According On3, there aren't that many quarterbacks in college football valued at $3 million. Those that are that high include Miami's Cam Ward, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Texas's Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, and Alabama's Jalen Milroe.

This past offseason, the Badgers got Tyler Van Dyke in the transfer portal after he left the Miami Hurricanes. Van Dyke has since suffered a season-ending ACL injury and the fate of the Badgers is in the hands of backup quarterback Braedyn Locke.

Big Cat to the rescue in 2025? We won't hold our breath, but you never know...

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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