The 2027 college football recruiting cycle is in full-swing right now, as teams look to stockpile their high school talent ahead of the start of the 2026 season. And in this new world of NIL, money is outwardly being discussed across the sport. And according to On3’s Pete Nakos, it’s Texas A&M that has taken the cake as spending the most money thus far on its high school class. The price? A cool $10 million.
One SEC general manager told Nakos, “Texas A&M is spending a shit ton — easily $10 million.”
Now, this is not a surprise. A&M has one of the highest-ranked classes in 2027, regardless of who your preferred recruiting service is: On3, 247 or Rivals. I’ve always enjoyed 247, and they have A&M with the No. 1 class, currently. By contrast, the Big 12’s highest-ranked team is Texas Tech, coming in at No. 8. On3 also notes the going rate for a four-star prospect is around $450,000. That adds up quickly when you’re trying to stack up as many four and five-star recruits as possible.
So now, the next question…
Can the Big 12 Keep Up?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is that it will just look different.
You can look around at the history of Big 12 programs who have had national success in the last 30 years of college football, and it hasn’t been because they’ve had multiple Top 5 recruiting classes. Programs like Baylor, Kansas State, Kansas, TCU, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Utah, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and UCF have all found themselves with a Top 5 program, albeit briefly for some, within the last couple of decades.
So it can be done. And while the recruiting landscape is changing, the formula is just going to have to change for Big 12 teams. That means being smart at the high school ranks, finding underrated two, or three-star prospects. Big 12 programs have always done this well. Develop them. And then try to retain them on a possible hometown discount. Sometimes you will get one, and sometimes you won’t.
Blend that strategy in with targeted transfer portal players, and you have the makings of a program that can compete nationally. Now it’s less likely, without a big spender like Texas Tech, the Big 12 has a year-in, year-out contender. But that has long been the beauty of this league: The unknown. The unpredictability.
And that’s why the question is: Who is this year’s surprise team? Sign up for the free Heartland forums, where we are having those conversations with fellow Big 12 fans on a regular basis!
