mthoopsfan
Well-known member
"In the first 12-team College Football Playoff field, those roster budgets are believed to vary widely among participants. This year, teams in contention had budgets at $3 million or less or as high as around $20 million among rosters with 85 scholarship players, though attempting to get exact figures is almost as difficult as winning the Playoff itself.
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork famously said this summer that the Buckeyes players received about $20 million in name, image and likeness funds over the past year, igniting a fascination with roster budgets across the sport.
Ohio State, Oregon and Texas figure to be somewhere at the top and Boise State somewhere far behind. Perhaps it’s not so different from the programs’ most recent publicly available total revenues, with Texas at $180.6 million and Boise at $24 million. This money, though, goes directly to players on the roster.
More money doesn’t guarantee success. Florida State went 2-10 this season and spent $12 million on its roster, The Athletic reported. Ole Miss spent between $10 million and $13 million, its collective director told The Athletic, believed to be in the top half of the SEC, and it narrowly missed the Playoff at 9-3.
The Athletic reported in 2022 that incoming Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava had signed a deal worth around $2 million annually while he was still a high school senior. He’s helped Tennessee reach the Playoff in his first year as starter, but has done so while carrying the weight of those expectations.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said last year that on the transfer market, quarterbacks cost between $1 million and $2 million.
Collectives are private businesses and only the data from collectives’ non-profit arms are subject to public records. Sportico reported the nonprofit Texas collective raised $10.5 million and spent $13.3 million last year. Unlike coaching salaries and contracts or athletic department budgets that can easily be obtained via records requests that must be fulfilled (for public universities) to comply with federal law, collectives are under no such obligations.
Jen Ferrang, general manager of Happy Valley United that supports Penn State sports, confirmed that it has invested more than $10 million in the Nittany Lions roster but declined to comment on whether its investment exceeded $15 million.
Brent Blum, executive director of the We Will Collective that supports Iowa State sports, said it invested about $3 million in this year’s roster that won 10 games for the first time in school history. The Cyclones’ loss in the Big 12 Championship Game eliminated them from the Playoff. Blum said that number ranks “in the bottom third” of the Big 12 by his estimation.
“I’d say (our budget) is probably five or six times what we were able to do this year vs. last year,” said Tyler Harris, executive director of Hoosiers Connect. “There’s been a lot more people get involved since the coaching change. … The athletic department really doesn’t want us talking (specifics) so I try to abide and stay in their good graces.”
www.nytimes.com
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork famously said this summer that the Buckeyes players received about $20 million in name, image and likeness funds over the past year, igniting a fascination with roster budgets across the sport.
Ohio State, Oregon and Texas figure to be somewhere at the top and Boise State somewhere far behind. Perhaps it’s not so different from the programs’ most recent publicly available total revenues, with Texas at $180.6 million and Boise at $24 million. This money, though, goes directly to players on the roster.
More money doesn’t guarantee success. Florida State went 2-10 this season and spent $12 million on its roster, The Athletic reported. Ole Miss spent between $10 million and $13 million, its collective director told The Athletic, believed to be in the top half of the SEC, and it narrowly missed the Playoff at 9-3.
The Athletic reported in 2022 that incoming Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava had signed a deal worth around $2 million annually while he was still a high school senior. He’s helped Tennessee reach the Playoff in his first year as starter, but has done so while carrying the weight of those expectations.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said last year that on the transfer market, quarterbacks cost between $1 million and $2 million.
Collectives are private businesses and only the data from collectives’ non-profit arms are subject to public records. Sportico reported the nonprofit Texas collective raised $10.5 million and spent $13.3 million last year. Unlike coaching salaries and contracts or athletic department budgets that can easily be obtained via records requests that must be fulfilled (for public universities) to comply with federal law, collectives are under no such obligations.
Jen Ferrang, general manager of Happy Valley United that supports Penn State sports, confirmed that it has invested more than $10 million in the Nittany Lions roster but declined to comment on whether its investment exceeded $15 million.
Brent Blum, executive director of the We Will Collective that supports Iowa State sports, said it invested about $3 million in this year’s roster that won 10 games for the first time in school history. The Cyclones’ loss in the Big 12 Championship Game eliminated them from the Playoff. Blum said that number ranks “in the bottom third” of the Big 12 by his estimation.
“I’d say (our budget) is probably five or six times what we were able to do this year vs. last year,” said Tyler Harris, executive director of Hoosiers Connect. “There’s been a lot more people get involved since the coaching change. … The athletic department really doesn’t want us talking (specifics) so I try to abide and stay in their good graces.”
How much do NIL roster budgets really matter for College Football Playoff teams?
Is a team's roster number the price of admission for Playoff access or to have a shot at winning the whole thing? There are no guarantees.
www.nytimes.com
