College football roster budgets have ballooned this offseason as teams prepare for a new era in which schools can compensate athletes directly. But could a championship team cost as much as $40 million?
That’s one high-end estimate of what Texas could be spending on its 2025 roster, according to a Houston Chronicle report from columnist Kirk Bohls. Bohls, who has covered the Longhorns for more than 50 years, reported Wednesday that the team’s roster budget currently sits somewhere “between $35 million and $40 million,” including the revenue the school will be able to share as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement.If that budget range is accurate, it represents a significant leap from the previous highest known roster budget in the sport: Ohio State’s 2024 roster, which went on to win the national championship, cost around $20 million, athletic director Ross Bjork told the Columbus Dispatch and Yahoo! Sports last summer.
Is an estimate of as much as twice the Buckeyes’ figure realistic or far-fetched? The Athletic reached out to multiple Texas officials to confirm the veracity of the Chronicle’s report, but all declined comment. But after conversations with a dozen people elsewhere in college football with knowledge of roster budgets, including general managers, personnel directors and name, image and likeness collective heads, here’s what we know — and don’t — about Texas’ spending power and the state of roster budgets headed into the 2025 season. Each person was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about team finances.What we know
Team roster budgets are rarely officially confirmed.
Because schools won’t directly share revenue with players until the settlement is approved, compensation still runs through NIL collectives, which help shield contracts and records from scrutiny. But Texas Tech basketball star JT Toppin and quarterback Carson Beck, who transferred from Georgia to Miami, are just two examples from this year of player pay levels becoming public knowledge.
Some schools or collectives are more forthcoming than others. Walker Jones, executive director of The Grove Collective, which works with Ole Miss athletes, said last fall that the collective spent more than $10 million on NIL deals for the football roster. Texas Tech spent more than $10 million on just its transfer portal class this offseason, and Bjork opened eyes when he revealed Ohio State’s budget last year.
