The 2025 Men’s NCAA Tournament is currently a hot topic in college sports. However, on Monday, discussions will also shift to the transfer portal, which former Wisconsin Badgers star football player and NFL on CBS analyst JJ Watt finds utterly ridiculous. As the college basketball transfer portal opens, teams will have a 30-day window to adjust their rosters. The downside is that teams advancing to the Sweet 16 will be preoccupied with their postseason games, leaving little room for transfer portal considerations.
This issue isn’t unique to college basketball; during the last college football season, the winter transfer portal window coincided with bowl season from December 9 to December 28. JJ Watt addressed this concern in a post on X, pointing out that the influx of transfer portal information during the NCAA Tournament essentially “cannibalizes” the sport.
The NCAA transfer portal opening before March Madness ends (same as football portal opening before bowl season ends) is preposterous.
Literally cannibalizing your own sport.
Imagine NFL free agency starting the Monday after Wild Card Weekend…
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 23, 2025
It’s hard to argue against Watt’s statements. Shifting the transfer portal opening to post-postseason in both college basketball and football could enhance interest in the transfer portal while also alleviating the competitive disadvantages faced by teams that go deep into the playoffs. Given the already contentious nature of the transfer portal among commentators, a change in the portal window, as Watt suggests, might help foster a more favorable reception of its concept.
