Yesterday, September 15, 2026, the Senate voted 74 to 24 to send the Protect College Sports Act to the floor, where it is expected to pass, at least in the Senate.

Perhaps the good Senators read The Athletic's article ($ Wall) on what it costs to build a roster that can compete for championships in today's college football (CFB).

The Athletic used 70 different sources to make an educated estimate of the cost of 68 Power 4 rosters.

As The Athletic's Stewart Mandel noted, nailing down exact numbers is difficult. Very few people associated with a program know the exact number, and these people do not want to share.

Exact roster cost and a player's individual earnings are kept under wraps to, in theory, thwart agent salary demands. It isn't working.

You don't have to be a mathematics savant to recognize that $20 million to $54 million in two years is exponential growth.

In 2024, Ohio State AD Ross Bjork acknowledged that the cost of the roster that would win that season's championship was slightly over $20 million.

Today, Ohio State's roster budget is estimated to be between $49 and 54 million, the nation's top estimated budget.

Not surprisingly, in CFB, on-field success generally follows the money.

The median budget for each Power 4 conference in millions of dollars:

B12 - 18 to 22. Six of 16 programs budget at least 20 million.

ACC - 20 to 24 - Six of 17 programs and Notre Dame budget at least 20 million.

Number 68 - at an estimated 8 to 13 million dollars, Boston College is last in FBS CFB. But in Week 2, the Golden Eagles defeated Rutgers, with an estimated budget of 20 to 23 million dollars, 28 to 21, with help from the Rutgers QB, who completed four passes to BC DBs.

B1G - Seven of 18 programs budget more than 29 million; on the low side of the estimate, four programs budget less than 20 million.

SEC - 10 of 16 programs budget at least 29 million. No program budgets less than 22 million.

If the Big Ten is top-heavy compared to the SEC, the budget numbers explain why.

Week 2 - Mississippi State 38 - Minnesota 13 -

Bulldogs' budget: 25 to 30 million. Gophers' budget: 18 to 20 million.

Of course, every game does not follow the money.

Oregon's budget: 48 to 54 million. Oklahoma State's budget: 15 to 19 million. Dan shouldn't lose games to unranked teams. However, one loss so far in five seasons is not shabby.

CFB's Top 10 budgets:

Ohio State - 49-54

Oregon - 48-54

Close to a dead heat for the top budget. The grass is damn green.

Texas - 45-55

LSU - 47-50

Texas A&M - 45-50

Miami - 44-50

Notre Dame - 41-48

Ole Miss - 39-45

Tennessee - 41-43

Alabama - 38-42

Big spending Texas Tech is tied with Bama - 38-42

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Other B1G programs: USC 37-40/ Indiana 36-40/ Michigan 36-40/ Nebraska 31-35/ Penn State 29-32/ Wisconsin 27-31/ UCLA 26-30/ Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Washington 21-25/ Rutgers 20-33/ Illinois 19-23/ Minnesota 18-22/ Iowa 17-23/ Purdue 16-20.

How does a team win with a smaller budget?

Kirk Ferentz's Iowa program has a stellar long-term ROI. His Hawkeyes win with sound defense, special plays from the special teams, and not turning the ball over.

Vanderbilt's budget is 25 to 28 million. But if you can find a talent like Diego Pavia in the G6, you can soar for as long as The Guy is on campus.

Will Trinidad Chambliss from DII Ferris State bring down L$U on $aturday?

Upsets happen (🤬), but for the most part, program success follows the money. How long before the moneyed programs form a Super Conference?

Will the Protect College Sports Act pass? Will $54 million today be $88 million in 2027?

And if this happens, will we witness college sports committing suicide?

Very informative and shocking in a way, but not a complete surprise how much OBD spends on the players. While "on-field success generally follows the money", it has unfortunately not been the case for us so far this year. Hope we get back to the general trend soon, by beating Portland State soundly this Friday night!

Capping the $$$ will definitely help the Ducks as we are way ahead of the curve on facilities and will probably always be.

Also, will it be tweaked so that no single player can receive more than a certain amount?

4 minutes ago, Steven A said:

Also, will it be tweaked so that no single player can receive more than a certain amount?

Therein lies the rub. You can check to see whether NIL deals are kosher, if programs submit NIL deals to the clearinghouse as they are supposed to under the House settlement, but you can't cap players' legitimate NIL deals.

Back in pre-NIL days, UNLV basketball players made a lot of money parking cars at casinos.😁

Will the Bill Cruz to passage and end well for Cantwell?😁

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2026/09/15/college-sports-act-ncaa-debate-maria-cantwell/91780894007/

5 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

Therein lies the rub. You can check to see whether NIL deals are kosher, if programs submit NIL deals to the clearinghouse as they are supposed to under the House settlement, but you can't cap players' legitimate NIL deals.

Back in pre-NIL days, UNLV basketball players made a lot of money parking cars at casinos.😁

Who determines the criteria for what is a ‘legitimate’ NIL deal? And, is this definition in anyway under scrutiny by the DC poles?

Maybe that’s why car-parking Rebel football team members were referred to as Ocean’s 11?

14 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

UNLV basketball players made a lot of money parking cars at casinos.

Or not even parking them.

BTW, our new car has a Valet mode that lets us know how fast and how many miles a valet has driven it.

Since I don't ever frequent a place that has valet, I guess I will just have to use it when/if I loan it to a kid or grandkid (heaven forbid I ever get that far gone).

A Picture is Worth a Lot More than JJ's Words - ( I am NOT referring to the photo of the cheerleaders!)

CFB-HQ On SI

New Chart Shows Most Expensive Teams in College Football

College football's roster-building arms race now carries a price tag approaching $54 million, with The Athletic's new survey showing how sharply access to playe

Just now, Steven A said:

Or not even parking them.

BTW, our new car has a Valet mode that lets us know how fast and how many miles a valet has driven it.

Since I don't ever frequent a place that has valet, I guess I will just have to sue it when/if I loan it to a kid or grandkid (heaven forbid I ever get that far gone).

Relax, it's OK. Grandkids? I have four on the floor. Well, one on the floor and three in college. 😁