With the NIL world potentially set to change soon, one major college football program is projected to dish out up to $40 million in roster costs for the 2025 season.
The House v. NCAA settlement, if approved, would give schools approximately $20.5 million to distribute among athletic programs.
Football teams are expected to demand the most out of the revenue-sharing model, and the sport’s perennial powers would benefit the most with already well-funded NIL collectives.
Head coach Ryan Day and Ohio State famously spent an estimated $20 million in NIL money during the Buckeyes’ national championship run last season.
And that number seems minute when compared to what the Texas Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian are projected to distribute for the 2025 season.
It appears that Texas is pulling out all the stops to get to the national championship after falling short despite back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances.
According to Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle, the Longhorns will spend between $35 and $40 million in NIL funds to field one of the most talented rosters in college football.
The budget reportedly includes the $20.5 million that would come from the revenue-sharing model, slated to begin on July 1, if approved. The additional funds come through the Texas One Fund collective.
“With the addition of 10 football players out of the transfer portal and probably one or two more on the way, the budget for next season’s Texas roster has grown as well,” Bohls wrote.
“It currently sits somewhere “between $35 million and $40 million,” which counts the likely revenue-sharing allotment expected to be $20.5 million as well as payouts through the Texas One Fund, a connected source tells the Houston Chronicle.”
Former five-star quarterback and projected starter Arch Manning is “by far” the highest-paid player on the Texas roster. According to the report, though, Manning isn’t taking money from the program and, instead, makes his money from corporate sponsorships.
As did former starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, who declined substantial payment from the Texas One Fund for the Longhorns to be able to use those funds to build the roster elsewhere.
Texas returns Manning alongside a pair of defensive stars in Freshman All-American linebacker Collin Simmons and First-Team All-American linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.
The Longhorns have also added some of the top players in the transfer portal, including four-star defensive linemen Cole Brevard (Purdue), Travis Shaw (North Carolina) and Maraad Watson (Syracuse).
The lofty NIL output for programs, like Texas in 2025, isn’t expected to continue if the revenue-sharing model is approved.
“The House settlement and with the move to name, image and likeness payouts through corporations. “It’s just unsustainable,” the source said of the high payouts,” Bohls wrote. “The next season after this year, the whole world will be back to reality.”
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