The Iowa State Cyclones knew the 2025-26 men’s basketball season was the last time a few of their players would be on the roster.Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson and Nate Heise were all graduating, creating voids in the lineup. But the team is also not going to have Milan Momcilovic, who entered his name into the 2026 NBA Draft and entered the transfer portal as well.In an ideal world, the Cyclones would have been able to wait things out to see if Momcilovic remained in the draft or withdrew to use his last year of eligibility in college. Alas, it wasn’t feasible because head coach T.J. Otzelberger had to address holes on the roster and waiting for Momcilovic’s decision would have made it impossible to add players.Part of the reason Iowa State had to move on was to figure out its NIL payments for players already on the roster and coming to the program via the transfer portal. And based on recent reports, retaining Momcilovic would have been a tall task.Milan Momcilovic could receive $7 million in transfer portalMar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) reacts in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesAccording to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, the sharpshooting forward could command $7 million from a school as the No. 1 player in the transfer portal.That is an exorbitant amount of money, and one that is honestly hard to fathom. During the 2025-26 season, the highest-paid men’s college basketball player was AJ Dybansta of the BYU Cougars, who had an NIL valuation of $4.1 million to $4.4 million.This year in the transfer portal, the highest projected price tags were $5 million. Momcilovic being able to possibly land an offer that pays him approximately $2 million more is a shocking turn of events.He has said his goal was always to make the NBA, getting drafted this year, and money wasn’t a priority for him. But offers that lucrative, especially when NBA executives didn’t view his stock as being very high, would be incredibly hard to turn down.Milan Momcilovic could command $7 million from a school. https://t.co/I383RgheRL— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 26, 2026Commanding that kind of money will certainly take some people by surprise, but a bidding war could potentially be brewing for his services. The Kentucky Wildcats had emerged as the favorite for him, with the St. John’s Red Storm and Louisville Cardinals being mentioned as other suitors.Now, another team is reportedly entering the mix: the Arizona Wildcats, who are on the lookout for a potential Koa Peat replacement.Those are some heavy-hitters in the NIL department who are in the mix for Momcilovic. Even if the $7 million projection is a little above what he does end up getting, one thing is for sure: as the No. 1-ranked player in the portal, he is going to get paid handsomely.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow