Will Wade denies $12M LSU roster budget report

By Matt Moscona

Will Wade denied reports that LSU administrators promised him millions of dollars for his roster budget for his first season back in Baton Rouge.

“We’ve never put a number on it,” Wade said at his introductory press conference. “We’ll put (together) a roster that’s going to help us win and help us compete.”

Pete Nakos of On3 reported LSU had guaranteed Wade north of $12 million for his roster.

Sources have told @On3 in recent days that Will Wade is expected to have a roster budget north of $12 million at LSU.

Matt McMahon still has not been notified of his future, per sources. https://t.co/aCPGvd8tYY https://t.co/dKv873995k

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) March 26, 2026

“There hasn’t been a number put to it. It’s not like this is what you’re going to spend. It’s spend until you feel like you have a good enough team to compete in the SEC. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re going to do,” Wade said,

That sentiment was shared by new LSU administrator Heath Schroyer during an interview on After Further Review with Matt Moscona.

“You can have as much money as you want, but you still have to evaluate and you still have to be able to get them,” Schroyer said. “I think it really comes down to evaluating talent and having a system that’s conducive to winning that’s probably a little bit different.”

Schroyer was the McNeese head basketball coach before moving into the athletic director role in 2020. He spent 25 years as a Division I men’s basketball coach.

“Being able to figure all of that out is as important to me as just being able to just throw money at the problem,” he said.

Still, Wade knows it will cost to win, especially initially in his return to Baton Rouge.

“Look, the first year it will be high,” Wade said. “But once you get them in and you can retain them and — retaining guys is a lot easier than going to get them. So the first year, yeah, there may be some sticker shock. But we’ve got a good plan.”

Schroyer also refuted reports that LSU is adding Johnny Jones and Rick Stansbury to Wade’s staff.

“None of that is finalized,” he said.

Wade also said he would serve as both head coach and general manager.

“The decisions on the roster are ultimately going to come down to me. I’ll get input from everybody else, but it’s going to be me. That’s my job as a head coach. They’re not paying me all that money to have other people make decisions on things,” Wade said.

The transfer portal opens April 7 and Wade said he plans to have a “shell recruiting staff” in place by next week.