Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita bought a $950,000 house three miles from the UA campus, a 3,100-square-foot home that he upgraded by adding a pickleball court and a golf putting green. His brother, freshman linebacker Dash Fifita, lives with him.
Fifita gave a WSJ reporter and photographer access to his property. It's the first confirmed information about how much money is available to UA athletes in the revenue-sharing and NIL age.
The Wall Street Journal further reported that Arizona place-kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, a modestly successful player, bought a $370,000 home near the UA campus. He rents two of the bedrooms to football teammates to help make monthly payments. Also, Arizona starting offensive lineman Matthew Lado told the WSJ that he bought a $335,000 home in Tucson and also rents two bedrooms to teammates to make ends meet.
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Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita passes the ball during fall football practice at the Davis Sports Center, Aug. 5, 2026.
How it used to be: When Arizona's Sean Elliott was the NCAA basketball Player of the Year in 1989, he told me his mother, Odie, had to take out a loan to afford to travel with the Wildcats to the 1989 NCAA Tournament, with games in Boise and Denver. Elliott's pay? Like all athletes then, he received tuition, books, room and board from the UA.
How times change, huh?
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