Are you surprised to hear that Texas will end up spending between $30 to $40 million on its college football roster this season? If you are, welcome to the current era of college athletics.
As we prepare for the upcoming House Settlement to be approved (maybe), there is going to be a massive shift in how college athletes will be paid. While the majority of the money will come from the university, with contracts signed by the players and schools, there will still be money flowing from these NIL collectives across the country.
On Wednesday, the influence of collectives was put on full display, as Kirk Bohls from the Houston Chronicle reported that Texas will spend upward of $40 million on its football roster for the 2025 season.
While the number might be shocking, it does come with a caveat that fans of the sport are missing out. Right now, we are seeing NIL collectives pour a lot of their money into deals that they will have off the overall books by the time the House Settlement is put into place, with a revenue-cap coming for college football teams.
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So, when you see a number like $40 million being thrown around, you have to understand that a good chunk of this is being spent by teams who are front-loading deals at the moment. This means that players could receive a majority of their current contract by July 1, which would keep them off the books in regard to the cap that will be put into place once a settlement is agreed to.
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Schools will have around $20.5 million to split up between multiple sports across campus, with a majority going to football in the range of $17.5 million for this upcoming season. So, when you add in the amount of money these NIL collectives are spending, it makes sense that Texas would spend anywhere between $35 to $40 million.
Yes, I know that number is insane. But given that we had schools last year spending upward of $25 million for their football team, this hike in the overall roster budget shouldn’t come as a surprise. Also, let’s not act as if these athletic programs are going to keep everything above board.
While the days of players being paid in duffle bags, or in the dark parking lot of a hotel are over, these boosters will find ways to make sure players are getting paid, even if it’s more than the agreed-upon revenue-share cap.
The fact is that if you want to compete for national championships, you had better be willing to put together a roster that will cost you around $30 million per season.
Welcome to the new era of athletics, or should I say ‘professional’ college football.
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