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. 😁

Et tu, Nike? Rutgers? OK. But Miami? 🤬🤬🤬

On3

Miami signing 10-year sponsorship, apparel deal with Nike...

.

1 hour ago, Jon Joseph said:

three in college.

Humm, I remember being in college and being on the floor "occasionally" at the same time. 🤪

4 minutes ago, Steven A said:

Humm, I remember being in college and being on the floor "occasionally" at the same time. 🤪

I think that I, too, was frequently floored, but I can't remember. 🙃

If there ever was a time to tell an agent I found somebody that's a half a million ( 1 million to 2 million) less- and then make that happen - this is the time.

I don't necessarily agree with trying to a budget like Money Ball the movie. But there's a reason the Steelers make the playoffs without having to fork up a $300M budget. Same with the Patriots.

Now is the time to scout with extreme effectiveness, and develop these kids so they play in Sundays - regardless of Natty's. $30-35M is sufficient to put together some Joes good enough to get on an NFL roster by any means necessary.

That's my philosophy. I'm not paying for potential, I'm paying for performance. I would include incentives just like the NFL does. You reach a certain stat and you get a bonus, you don't you get that flat base salary.

Hardball the hell out of the agents. That would be my thing. But once again, I'm just a super hat that is blowing smoke from parts that most people don't like.

And I'm not advocating the Cignetti method. I'm plainly saying there are some hungry dudes out there that will bust their butt, crack some pads, like one walk on we know that's playing for the Indianapolis Colts right now. Another is on the Kansas City Chiefs roster at the linebacker, despite his inability to cover with a lot of speed sideline to sideline.

To hell with these kids with a lot of talent that want a lot of money. Coach up guys like D'Angelo Ponds who have the fight in them to take down a guy that's going to be one of the best NFL receivers, and is already one of the best college receivers ever.

I mentioned this earlier this week, Chip Kelly's 2010 team was not the most talented, but they were badass. They were mean, they hit hard, and teams had trouble with them no matter what.

I'll take that kind of team over the most talented team ever. Because they can play with those kind of teams. Think of Notre Dame's St Mary of the most beautiful heavenly personality versus the Grand theft Auto Miami Hurricanes. Walking into Touchdown Gosh' stadium in fatigues is epic.

Most people won't agree with this, but I want the kind of fierce battles like Ray Lewis versus Eddie George. Those two couldn't stand each other while they played. They beat each other up. They took it personally. They played with an edge most people dream of playing with.

That's what I want my ducks to be. And I'm not going to pay him $45 million dollars to do it. But that's just me. I want a scouting department that finds guys that play hard all the time. They say Wide Receivers were scared of Pat Tillman because Tillman wasn't afraid to knock himself out when he hit you. Those are my kind of dudes.

If any of you played football, you know that I'm saying. There have been weeks I was sore for four or five days. Because I went full tilt against guys that were bigger that went full tilt.

I haven't seen that from our OBD since Chip Kelly arrived as a coordinator. Give me three on the OL and DL like the 2003 team, 2 jet speed WRs, a Ferguson type TE, a Jevon Holland, a Cliff Harris, Troy Dye and Kiko Alonso. Surround them with players with grit, and you have a 2010 kind of team.

If you're not familiar with those guys, play some highlights. Those dudes were the real deal. I don't see enough players in any of Lanning's teams with that kind of fire. That's why I keep saying that Lanning is a hell of a coach. He is getting performance above his players' capacity.

Teams are neutralizing that advantage. Can't wait to show you how.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Mike West

44 minutes ago, Mike West said:

If there ever was a time to tell an agent I found somebody that's a half a million ( 1 million to 2 million) less- and then make that happen - this is the time.

I don't necessarily agree with trying to a budget like Money Ball the movie. But there's a reason the Steelers make the playoffs without having to fork up a $300M budget. Same with the Patriots.

Now is the time to scout with extreme effectiveness, and develop these kids so they play in Sundays - regardless of Natty's. $30-35M is sufficient to put together some Joes good enough to get on an NFL roster by any means necessary.

That's my philosophy. I'm not paying for potential, I'm paying for performance. I would include incentives just like the NFL does. You reach a certain stat and you get a bonus, you don't you get that flat base salary.

Hardball the hell out of the agents. That would be my thing. But once again, I'm just a super hat that is blowing smoke from parts that most people don't like.

And I'm not advocating the Cignetti method. I'm plainly saying there are some hungry dudes out there that will bust their butt, crack some pads, like one walk on we know that's playing for the Indianapolis Colts right now. Another is on the Kansas City Chiefs roster at the linebacker, despite his inability to cover with a lot of speed sideline to sideline.

To hell with these kids with a lot of talent that want a lot of money. Coach up guys like D'Angelo Ponds who have the fight in them to take down a guy that's going to be one of the best NFL receivers, and is already one of the best college receivers ever.

I mentioned this earlier this week, Chip Kelly's 2010 team was not the most talented, but they were badass. They were mean, they hit hard, and teams had trouble with them no matter what.

I'll take that kind of team over the most talented team ever. Because they can play with those kind of teams. Think of Notre Dame's St Mary of the most beautiful heavenly personality versus the Grand theft Auto Miami Hurricanes. Walking into Touchdown Gosh' stadium in fatigues is epic.

Most people won't agree with this, but I want the kind of fierce battles like Ray Lewis versus Eddie George. Those two couldn't stand each other while they played. They beat each other up. They took it personally. They played with an edge most people dream of playing with.

That's what I want my ducks to be. And I'm not going to pay him $45 million dollars to do it. But that's just me. I want a scouting department that finds guys that play hard all the time. They say Wide Receivers were scared of Pat Tillman because Tillman wasn't afraid to knock himself out when he hit you. Those are my kind of dudes.

If any of you played football, you know that I'm saying. There have been weeks I was sore for four or five days. Because I went full tilt against guys that were bigger that went full tilt.

I haven't seen that from our OBD since Chip Kelly arrived as a coordinator. Give me three on the OL and DL like the 2003 team, 2 jet speed WRs, a Ferguson type TE, a Jevon Holland, a Cliff Harris, Troy Dye and Kiko Alonso. Surround them with players with grit, and you have a 2010 kind of team.

If you're not familiar with those guys, play some highlights. Those dudes were the real deal. I don't see enough players in any of Lanning's teams with that kind of fire. That's why I keep saying that Lanning is a hell of a coach. He is getting performance above his players' capacity.

Teams are neutralizing that advantage. Can't wait to show you how.

Put Me In, Coach!