The NIL era has hit a new standard for college football ahead of the 2026 season.

With Lane Kiffin taking over at LSU, many were shocked by the record NIL deal being offered to compete among the best schools in the nation. As it turns out, a few teams are reportedly ahead of the Tigers in the latest NIL valuation numbers.

According to College Front Office, Texas is college football's top spender. One of six teams north of the $40 million mark with only one in the Big 12 inside the top ten. 

1. Texas - $47.9M
2. Miami - $44.0M
3. Ohio State - $43.5M
4. LSU - $42.8M
5. Oregon - $42.8M
6. Notre Dame - $40.4M
7. Texas A&M - $38.9M
8. Alabama - $37.2M
9. Tennessee - $36.7M
10. Texas Tech - $36.3M

Keep in mind, this isn't actual roster spending. However, it's a figure based on what the roster is worth in the current market. This is expected to grow over time with teams over $50 million by 2027.

One of the biggest misconceptions about college football is everyone needs to be playing on the same level. This clearly proves that's unlikely. Some teams aren't capable of cracking the $40 million-plus plateau, which further puts the elites in a league of their own.

6 College football teams reportedly over $40 million ahea...

More money, more problems for the elites.

Thanks, NJ.

Where's Georgia? When released by 247 Sports, Georgia will undoubtedly be among the top 5 in the composite team rankings. Players are being well compensated in Athens, mostly to stay on board and not out of the portal.

It hasn't paid off in two out of the last three seasons, but I thought FSU would be on the list. Ditto USC and Michigan, the Ole Miss Basket-Weavers, and every CFB team with a Blue Chip roster.

Do these numbers include $16 million, 80% of the allowed $20 million in revenue sharing, paid directly to football players? Who are not employees, right?

I don't doubt that large sums of money are spent on CFB rosters, and the article is interesting, but is this more of a WAG than anything that can be verified?

Looking at the ten teams on the list and a team's schedule, I think the following teams could miss out on a 2025-26 Playoff ROI, all from the SEC: Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and perhaps Texas?

With nine conference games, if the SEC is as deep as the It Just Means More folks want us to believe, many SEC teams should have three or more losses in 2025.

Five SEC teams on the list, and Sankey doesn't want to go to 24? I think he changes his position, or there will be a palace revolt in Birmingham.

On 5/14/2026 at 11:06 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Where's Georgia? When released by 247 Sports, Georgia will undoubtedly be among the top 5 in the composite team rankings. Players are being well compensated in Athens, mostly to stay on board and not out of the portal.

I think these roster rankings are reasonably accurate. Part of the reason Georgia isn't top 10 is that Kirby Smart doesn't break the bank to land unproven high school recruits, and part of the reason for that is, as Jon notes, that he prefers to spend to retain his proven entities. Plus, Georgia is not one of the weathier teams in college football, ranking only 8th in the SEC in fan donations.

"Keep in mind, this isn't actual roster spending. However, it's a figure based on what the roster is worth in the current market."

So this is just a measure of the externally evaluated talent level of the full roster, nothing more.

So when considering depth, we have the 5th most talented roster in the country. Let's see what Lanning and the rest of the staff does with this.

Remember all the hoopla just two years ago with Ohio State having a reported 20 million dollar roster? I remember some burnt orange individuals crying foul, well until it came out they had spent 26 million.

Last year there was chatter about the bake sales in Tuscaloosa, and NIL shifting the balance of power to the north..I was in the minority when I said it wasn't that the SEC programs couldn't muster the funds, but rather the fact that everyone was going to be able to do what many SEC programs had been doing with creative "scholarship incentives".

Alabama, Georgia, and that ridiculously stacked 2019 LSU had five stars three deep. You can't do that anymore. It's been an adjustment for guys like Kirby and Dabo(much more so). Saban retired because he knew that even he wasn't going to be able to keep up with the changing rules. High end players now have the same options as high end coaches. Now you can just transfer out, even if you signed an NIL deal. As long as the team you are going to can buy out your contract (Miami).Something that college football is going to have to fix.

The whole Lane Kiffin drama is such a dark cloud. I don't like the NFL nearly as much as college football, but they do know how to run a calendar. Contracts and commitments hold firm. If you play or coach for team x for set amount of years, you can't jump to team z without both sides agreeing to letting you out of your contract. You certainly can't leave for a divisional foe(LSU) a few weeks before your current team is getting ready for a playoff game.

Edited May 20May 20 by GatOrlando