Eighty-one days. Or maybe no calendar date matters.
It all depends on perspective, and whether you reside in reality or Neverland.
The NCAA Transfer Portal for college football, now in Year 2 of its single-window system, officially opens for two weeks beginning Jan. 2, 2027.
Officially.
Unofficially?
Business is already booming.
Three Power Four conference general managers, two head coaches and multiple agents told USA TODAY Sports within the past week the transfer market is already operating at full tilt.
“It’s super-active right now,” said a P-4 GM of a College Football Playoff contender. “Yeah, it’s active.
“They need to just make the portal in (expletive) December, the whole month basically. It’s already being done now and everything will be done in December.”
The “it” is unofficial communication with agents or players’ family members. Schools cannot have contact with players who have not yet entered the portal.
There are already three P-4 jobs open — Baylor, Maryland and NC State — which, under current rules, creates a pathway for mass exits from those programs.
“Yeah, stuff’s already happening,” an additional P-4 GM added.
“We’re hearing from teams,” added an agent with multiple starters in multiple P-4 leagues. “Obviously there’s nothing official.
“But teams already have a good idea of what their needs are going to be (in 2027).”
A ranking college administrator put the early portal activity much more succinctly Monday, Oct. 26, to USA TODAY Sports:
“Oh yeah that mother-(expletive) is wide open,” the individual said, “but that’s not to say folks aren’t noticing. There’s still people looking into things. The CSC is still active.”
Not surprisingly, the quarterback market is especially intriguing.
At this point, the upper tier of quarterbacks who could enter the portal isn’t as clear as it was during the 2025 season, when Brendan Sorsby’s departure from Cincinnati, Kenny Minchey’s from Notre Dame and Sam Leavitt’s from Arizona State — combined with a dizzying coaching carousel — set the stage for significant movement at the position.
“One guy told me his school could spend up to $5 million on a quarterback next year,” added an agent with players in three of the four P-4 leagues, plus multiple other conferences. “I wish I had a guy like that. I don’t.
“But I’ve got guys that are going to be moving up.”
Up means Group of Six to P-4, and FCS to FBS. Another agent said some players will also attempt to make the jump from NCAA Division II to the FBS level.
Meanwhile, programs continue to debate how best to spend in the portal era: invest heavily in proven college players through an à la carte approach, or spend big on high school recruiting while reserving enough money for a handful of major portal acquisitions.
“We’re never going to be USC, signing a top-5 (high school) signing class because we are never going to invest that way,” said a GM who nonetheless competes on the field with the Trojans. “We want young guys to develop and spend specifically in the portal with more money going to proven players while we develop.
“We should be the No. 25-35 class if I’m doing my job the right way, for us.”
The GM of another multi-time CFP participant sees it differently.
“I have to spend on high school stars to fund the rest of the roster,” the individual said. “We got guys whose whole hobbies are our recruiting.
“And if we aren't recruiting the five-star high school kids, they’re not giving the money we need to fund the actual roster.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football transfer portal hasn’t opened. The bidding already has
