Another $ Thread
Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2026 2:01 pm
How much does it cost to compete?
From an Athletic article:
These days, what's a conference champ cost?
College sports teams having actual, legal, publicly acknowledged payrolls is still such a new and rapidly evolving thing that we should probably check back in on dollar amounts every year.
This week, our Antonio Morales, Manny Navarro and Sam Khan Jr. shared loads of portal gossip from a panel of anonymous FBS coaches and staffers. There were lots of takes on this year's portal classes ("hate to say it, but Texas Tech is doing what it should"), plus reports of tampering being exactly as rampant as you'd suspect ("they’re getting tampered with by someone, if it’s not you").
Staffers from a full range of FBS conferences also ballparked their answers to this question: "How big a roster budget does a school need to be competitive in your conference?" And I couldn't help noticing how neatly those answers lined up into three tiers.
Their estimated payroll ranges, along with a couple of those quotes I've plucked from each group:
Group of 6: $2M to $10M
Group of 6 staffer 4: I think you’re going to really, really struggle if you’re not over $4 million in our conference.
Group of 6 staffer 3: If it was a starter kit for Conference USA, you can get away with $2 or $3 million. ... For other Group of 6 conferences, I’d say $8 to $10 million easily.
ACC and Big 12: $10M to $25M
ACC staffer 2: At least $10 million if you want to be legitimate.
Big 12 staffer 2: Around $20 million to $25 million to be competitive. Around $30 million if you want to win it.
Big Ten and SEC: $25M to $40M
SEC staffer 2: $25 million minimum.
Big Ten staffer 2: It’s getting up to $35 plus (million), if not $40 million.
From an Athletic article:
These days, what's a conference champ cost?
College sports teams having actual, legal, publicly acknowledged payrolls is still such a new and rapidly evolving thing that we should probably check back in on dollar amounts every year.
This week, our Antonio Morales, Manny Navarro and Sam Khan Jr. shared loads of portal gossip from a panel of anonymous FBS coaches and staffers. There were lots of takes on this year's portal classes ("hate to say it, but Texas Tech is doing what it should"), plus reports of tampering being exactly as rampant as you'd suspect ("they’re getting tampered with by someone, if it’s not you").
Staffers from a full range of FBS conferences also ballparked their answers to this question: "How big a roster budget does a school need to be competitive in your conference?" And I couldn't help noticing how neatly those answers lined up into three tiers.
Their estimated payroll ranges, along with a couple of those quotes I've plucked from each group:
Group of 6: $2M to $10M
Group of 6 staffer 4: I think you’re going to really, really struggle if you’re not over $4 million in our conference.
Group of 6 staffer 3: If it was a starter kit for Conference USA, you can get away with $2 or $3 million. ... For other Group of 6 conferences, I’d say $8 to $10 million easily.
ACC and Big 12: $10M to $25M
ACC staffer 2: At least $10 million if you want to be legitimate.
Big 12 staffer 2: Around $20 million to $25 million to be competitive. Around $30 million if you want to win it.
Big Ten and SEC: $25M to $40M
SEC staffer 2: $25 million minimum.
Big Ten staffer 2: It’s getting up to $35 plus (million), if not $40 million.
