The original 12 college football The teams' playoff rosters were worth more than most other teams across the country. Media and technology company On3 estimates that the 12 listings combined are worth about $150 million.
“What's happened over the years is more and more money is coming to these universities,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama.
Tuberville, who is also a former college football coach, has legislation aimed at addressing it What some say It is an uneven playing field.
“The problem is that in 2021, the Supreme Court said, 'OK, we see this lawsuit, and we agree with the athletes. They should be able to make money off their name, image and likeness,'” Tuberville said. “It just went downhill from there. There were no rules set in place. It was just the Wild West.”
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Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, is a former college football coach. (Anna Moneymaker/File)
Schools where football players earn large sums of money seem to be nothing successful on the field. Most teams that qualified for the College Football Playoffs also had some of the highest value rosters.
“There's a class within a class of schools across the country that have the best infrastructure, the best systems, the best fundraising, the best corporate deals,” said Rob Senn, CEO of Blueprint Sports, an agency that oversees many collegiate or sports groups. Donor groups across the country. “They will build a collegiate team, they will get a group of wealthy people together and come up with a budget and help support their coach for the sport they love most.”
Schools that benefited early from the formation of cooperatives and those that already had a large reinforcement system were able to move forward.
“Football is the only big-money sport in intercollegiate athletics. Basketball is next, and maybe minor league baseball,” Auburn Men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said. “The vast majority of the zero-sum money will go to sports that make money. As a result, our Olympic sports are completely at risk.”
Bruce Pearl (Andy Lyons/Getty Images/File)
The 2024 season featured higher stakes with the first extended playoff season. A 13-member College Football Playoff Selection Committee ranks the top 25 teams. Twelve schools earned playoff spots, but not all were among the top 12 seeded teams. The group awarded automatic points to the five conference tournament winners, who received the highest seed, among the nine major conferences. Those included Atlantic Coast ConferenceThe Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference are four powers. Group of Five conferences were also eligible. These conferences include the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference.
Power Four conference schools traditionally have larger revenue budgets and television viewership than other college sports programs. A team from each Power Four conference earned a playoff spot. Boise State of the Mountain West was the only team to qualify out of 62 schools across the Group of Five conferences. The team also has the most valuable roster in terms of NIL money of any of the other 62 schools.
“Different programs have come up and gone out there and had a huge impact,” Sen said. “Right now, money is what drives college athletics and schools are looking for ‘where can I get the best opportunity to grow’.”
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In the 2024 season, several teams have changed conferences in order to have more money and stronger competition. Southern Methodist University moved from America to the ACC and ended up losing to Clemson in the conference championship game. Clemson has the most money to nothing among ACC teams. Despite finishing 16th, the team earned a playoff bid by winning the ACC Championship Game. The Tigers eventually lost in the first round of the playoffs to Texas. SMU also reached the playoff bracket but lost in the first round to Penn State.
“It's about opportunity. You are also starting to see that there is a lot of talk about what could be a Super League or two. “You're starting to see a lot of maneuvering happening for 'Hey, I want to be there,'” Sen said.
Oklahoma and Texas moved to the SEC. Texas lost the championship game to Georgia but will play Big 12 champion Arizona State in the second round of the playoffs. SEC teams had some of the highest value rosters. Georgia was among the teams that received the most money overall. Texas has the most expensive roster and is also estimated to have one of the best recruiting classes for the 2025-2026 season.
Arizona State celebrates after defeating Iowa State (Jerome Meron-Imagine Photo/File)
“We're late to the party and we've adequately compensated our student-athletes. We're there now. We just have to find a way to make it work for everyone,” Pearl said. “I think we need some federal help so that every state doesn't do its own thing, and we don't have a true NCAA champion.”
Oregon State won the Big Ten Championship Game and was undefeated for the season. The Ducks were originally part of the Pac-12, which broke away from teams joining the ACC, Big 10 and Big 12. Oregon will face another member of the Big Ten in the second round of the playoffs, the Ohio State Buckeyes. While Oregon State has a better record, Ohio State leads the Big Ten in nothing money.
Arizona State is another former member of the Pac-12. Switched to the Big 12 for the 2024-2025 season. The Sun Devils won the Big 12 Championship Game and received an automatic bid to the playoffs. However, their roster was not the most expensive of the conference. Colorado players earned the most money. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders is also estimated to be the highest-paid NIL athlete in the country. He is the son of the former Colorado coach Dual NFL-MLB athlete Deion Sanders.
“There have been elite athletes since day one. They've always risen to the top and always made the most money because they bring a lot more star power than the rest of the team necessarily does, or they've spent a lot of time building their brand,” Sen said.
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Blueprint Sports oversees the 5430 Alliance group in Colorado. Although the team did not earn a spot in the playoffs, there are high-caliber players on the roster, including Sanders, who is expected to be a first-round pick. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter also earned recognition and millions in the NIL for playing nearly every snap for the team as a wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense.
“There are the star-studded athletes who have agencies working behind them to make big deals with them. There are the up-and-coming athletes, and then there are the athletes who, you know, are happy to do anything. From an NIL standpoint,” Sen said.
Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter scores a touchdown during the first half against Central Florida on September 28, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Collectives have helped some playoff schools sign big deals. The 1870 Society of Ohio has a partnership with the Giant Eagle supermarket chain. Nike co-founder Phil Knight launched the Division Street Collective in Oregon. Tennessee quarterback Niko LaMaleva received an $8 million deal from Spyre Sports Group before signing with the Volunteers.
“I think the red flag that comes up is that there's a lot of money being paid to high school seniors who get into college athletics who have never played a game or a minute of college sports before, and you have no idea what you're going to do,” Sen said. “I'll get it.”
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The Texas One fund brings together five separate, none-the-fact entities and is believed to be the wealthiest in the country. It provided quarterback Quinn Ewers with a private jet and each offensive lineman with a $50,000-a-year scholarship.
“What we want to do is just try to make sure that everyone has that opportunity to get whatever they can get. But when you take the money, you have to sign a contract, and then you have to commit to that.” a contract,” Tuberville said. “I know for a fact that some colleges, they bring in Lamborghinis and Corvettes and put them in front of their office buildings when they bring in these recruits. It's completely changed. It's big money. It's minor league sports, what is that? It is now.”
