Average Power Conference Football Roster will exceed $ 22 million this season:

We estimate that Power 4 Conference football teams will have a median roster cost of around $ 22 million for the 2026-27 season. Players are paid via a combination of revenue sharing of about $ 15 million and third-party NIL of around $ 7 million:

Estimated Roster Costs
by Conference 2026-27
Total Payments
to Players ($)		Paid by School via
Revenue Sharing 		Paid via Third-Party
Commercial NIL *
SEC 27,950,00015,500,00012,450,000
Big Ten24,570,00015,500,0009,070,000
Big 12 20,467,00015,500,0004,967,000
ACC 19,270,00015,500,0003,770,000
Power 4 Median ($)$ 22,418,000$ 15,500,000$ 6,918,000

Estimated 2026 Football Roster Costs for all 68 Power Conference teams:

Football Roster Costs
P4 Teams 2026-27 *
ConferenceEstimated Roster
Cost 2026-27 ($)
TexasSEC46,409,000
OregonBig Ten43,057,000
Louisiana StateSEC40,314,000
Ohio StateBig Ten39,275,000
MiamiACC37,320,000
Southern CalBig Ten35,094,000
Texas A&MSEC32,720,000
MississippiSEC32,325,000
MichiganBig Ten32,312,000
Notre DameIndependent32,135,000
AlabamaSEC31,730,000
Texas TechBig 1231,556,000
IndianaBig Ten31,130,000
GeorgiaSEC30,936,000
TennesseeSEC29,642,000
OklahomaSEC28,747,000
Penn StateBig Ten27,548,000
AuburnSEC27,152,000
UCLABig Ten25,766,000
WashingtonBig Ten25,584,000
MissouriSEC25,558,000
NebraskaBig Ten25,502,000
HoustonBig 1225,451,000
VanderbiltSEC25,264,000
FloridaSEC24,969,000
ArkansasSEC24,575,000
South CarolinaSEC24,080,000
ClemsonACC23,914,000
WisconsinBig Ten23,639,000
Michigan StateBig Ten23,620,000
Florida StateACC23,408,000
Mississippi StateSEC22,585,000
MarylandBig Ten22,457,000
Oklahoma StateBig 1222,445,000
KentuckySEC22,391,000
Kansas StateBig 1222,340,000
MinnesotaBig Ten22,275,000
ColoradoBig 1222,035,000
IllinoisBig Ten21,193,000
Brigham YoungBig 1221,130,000
IowaBig Ten20,711,000
VirginiaACC20,702,000
Texas ChristianBig 1220,625,000
West VirginiaBig 1220,619,000
LouisvilleACC20,495,000
UtahBig 1220,314,000
PurdueBig Ten20,229,000
NorthwesternBig Ten20,047,000
PittsburghACC19,889,000
Arizona StateBig 1219,709,000
North CarolinaACC19,683,000
Virginia TechACC19,376,000
Iowa StateBig 1219,303,000
Georgia TechACC19,270,000
RutgersBig Ten19,265,000
Southern MethodistACC19,164,000
KansasBig 1219,099,000
Wake ForestACC18,957,000
North Carolina StateACC18,951,000
BaylorBig 1218,693,000
CincinnatiBig 1218,688,000
ArizonaBig 1218,483,000
Central FloridaBig 1218,178,000
DukeACC18,145,000
SyracuseACC18,039,000
CaliforniaACC17,932,000
StanfordACC17,526,000
Boston CollegeACC17,120,000

* Data on third-party NIL is private, and almost all schools keep this information closer to the vest than even the original formula for Coca-Cola. However, we believe these estimates are reasonably accurate and conservative. The University of Alabama’s General Manager has stated that some schools with high aspirations are spending over $ 40 million to assemble championship contending teams, and there are (unsupported) estimates from other GMs of a few $ 60 million football rosters.  See our methodology page for how we arrived at these estimates.

We currently do not have solid 2026-27 estimates for Group of 6 football teams. But based on the information we do have, we would expect G6 football roster costs (virtually all revenue sharing) to most likely be in the range of $ 2 million to $ 4 million per team, with a handful of schools spending much higher than this.

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The new Pac-12 begins play this fall … is it the sweet spot conference in the NIL & Revenue Sharing Era?

 

A primer on NIL:

ImageNIL refers to “Name, Image & Likeness”.  For nearly 100 years, NCAA regulations on amateur sports barred its athletes from receiving compensation in any form other than athletic scholarships. However a series of recent court cases held that college athletes are allowed to receive compensation for use of their name, image and likeness, such as for advertising, product endorsements and social media posts.

There are two distinct types of NIL: Third-Party NIL & Institution NIL (Revenue Sharing)

Third-party NIL (Commercial NIL) is paid to athletes by businesses and organizations independent of the schools. While there is no limit to the amount of compensation an athlete may receive, all third-party NIL deals over $ 600 must be submitted to the College Sports Commission (CSC) for approval to confirm that it represents true NIL and not “pay to play” compensation which remains prohibited.

Institutional NIL (Revenue Sharing) is paid directly to athletes by NCAA member schools. The maximum revenue sharing payment allowed per school is $ 21.3 million (up from $ 20.5 million) for the current 6/30/27 fiscal year. Participation in revenue sharing is optional, currently 327 of the total 364 NCAA I schools have elected to participate. 

Additionally, the settlement in House v NCAA removed prior scholarship limits for NCAA I sports and substituted roster limits instead. Consequently, participating schools can now effectively offer every athlete a full scholarship.

While these recent developments are great for most NCAA I athletes, it has also resulted in a massive hit to many school athletic department budgets. Revenue sharing and increased scholarship awards could add close to $ 30 million in new costs this year at most Power conference schools … and this doesn’t factor in the effect of third-party NIL.

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Is the NIL era doomed in its present form? 2025 Financial results for FBS Conference Schools:

Based on NCAA financial reporting, Power 4 conference schools collectively averaged almost $ 63 million in net operating losses in 2025. These losses were funded by booster contributions averaging $ 44 million per school, student fees and school support averaging $ 15 million per school, and endowment / investment income averaging $ 4 million per school:

2025 Operating Results ($)
FBS Conference Averages		Operating
Revenue 		Operating
Expenses		Net Loss from
Operations ($)
Booster
Contributions		School Support
& Student Fees
Endowment &
Investments		Net Surplus
(Deficit) **		% of expenses
paid by School
& Student Fees
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SEC 146,844,302224,947,226- 78,102,92465,842,5158,037,6334,566,251343,4754%
Big Ten146,041,873194,248,880- 48,207,00736,045,4719,185,6903,623,092647,2465%
ACC 97,639,846169,270,445- 71,630,59938,091,66723,751,0976,425,340- 3,362,49514%
Big 1274,250,529131,669,516- 57,418,98734,806,29622,875,7341,440,4021,703,44517%
Pac-12 35,840,36976,619,213- 40,778,84414,711,93429,869,377458,9284,261,39539%
American19,781,52863,666,350- 43,884,8227,774,88837,616,118282,3861,788,57059%
Mountain West19,662,02751,090,956- 31,428,9295,527,78525,297,462923,492319,81050%
Sun Belt10,850,44346,169,525- 35,319,0825,240,12327,637,51691,275- 2,350,16860%
Mid-American 9,645,54241,970,787- 32,325,2452,335,11328,375,273202,893- 1,411,96668%
Conference USA9,817,52241,283,623- 31,466,1012,503,91729,473,075429,878940,76971%
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P4 Average ($)120,011,476182,947,702- 62,936,22644,405,48114,773,2883,929,692172,2358%
G6 Average ($)16,770,43552,689,175- 35,918,7406,125,05629,642,173400,042248,53156%

And these losses are before Revenue Sharing and additional scholarships (see tables below) add another $ 30 million in additional costs this year to many, if not most P4 athletic budgets. Consequently, many Power conference schools will be looking at eye-popping net operating losses of over $ 100 million this year. 

The bottom line is schools have to come up with money from somewhere to pay for all this red ink. Historically, deficits have been funded by a combination of athletic department contributions, student fees and direct school support. However, these traditional sources of support are unlikely to keep pace with skyrocketing operating costs, including a free-for-all dumpster fire in third party NIL. Despite the hard sell by many athletic departments, there are indications that booster fatigue may be increasing.

And it’s going to be increasingly difficult for athletic departments to continue to tap school general funds or student fees to cover growing deficits. Federal funding cuts and declining college enrollment are placing an enormous financial strain on universities nationwide. It will be difficult for schools to rationalize academic department cuts and staff layoffs, while at the same time giving money burning athletic departments a seemingly blank check to pay teen-age football and basketball players millions of dollars per year. 

This is the reason why many schools and conferences are looking at alternate sources of funding including private equity arrangements and a so-caller super league. It’s why the current NIL era is most likely not sustainable in its present structure.

Significant increase in available athletic scholarships at NCAA I Schools: 

As part of the House v NCAA settlement, scholarship limits have been removed, and roster caps have been established for each sport. As a result, participating schools can effectively offer full scholarships to all athletes up to the specific sport’s roster limit.  By our calculations, the value of athletic scholarships awarded could increase by an average of $ 10 million per school,  and close to  $ 20 million for a few.  Here is how the new scholarship and roster limits aplly to each NCAA I Sport:

Scholarship Limits
per NCAA I Sport		TeamPrior
limit		New
limit		Increase
Per team
Men's NCAA I Sports
BaseballM11.73422.3
BasketballM13152
FencingM4.52419.5
Football (FBS)M8510520
GolfM4.594.5
GymnasticsM6.32013.7
HockeyM18268
LacrosseM12.64835.4
SkiingM6.3169.7
SoccerM9.92818.1
SwimmingM9.93020.1
TennisM4.5105.5
Track / X-CM12.66249.4
VolleyballM4.51813.5
Water poloM4.52419.5
WrestlingM9.93020.1
Women's NCAA I Sports
BasketballW1515-
Beach volleyballW61913
BowlingW5116
EquestrianW155035
FencingW52419
Field hockeyW122715
GolfW693
GymnasticsW12208
HockeyW18268
LacrosseW123826
RowingW206848
RugbyW123624
SkiingW7169
SoccerW142814
SoftballW122513
SwimmingW143016
TennisW8102
Track / X-CW186244
TriathlonW6.5147.5
AcrobaticsW145541
VolleyballW12186
Water poloW82416
WrestlingW103020
Mixed / Coed Sports
RifleMix3.6128.4
StuntMix146551

Participation in the new scholarship and roster limits is optional. However, schools opting not to be subject to roster limits must adhere to the prior (lower) scholarship limits. Participating schools must submit certified rosters to the College Sports Commission. Additionally, all athletic scholarship awards are optional. Schools can fully fund a sport or award less than the maximum allowed. However, schools will be pressured to fully fund their sports for both competitive and equity considerations. Scholarships remain one of the primary recruiting tools, and programs offering less than the maximum awards allowed will likely be at a recruiting disadvantage to competitors who are fully funding their teams. 

The NCAA recognizes that revenue sharing will primarily benefit athletes in only a few sports. One of the primary objectives of the new scholarship model is to provide additional monetary awards for student-athletes participating in limited revenue sports. While Football and Men’s basketball will receive close to 90% of revenue sharing payments at most FBS schools, conversely, about 90% of the additional scholarship awards will go to athletes in Women’s and Men’s sports other than football and basketball.

Significant non-compliance with NIL reporting requirements?

I don’t want to say something is rotten in Denmark, but the numbers aren’t adding up on NIL compliance. As outlined in the House v NCAA settlement, every third-party NIL deal over $ 600 is required to be submitted to the College Sports Commission for approval. However, the total value of deals submitted via the NIL Go portal appears to be only a fraction of what is actually being paid to athletes. This raises the issue of potentially significant non-compliance with NIL reporting requirements. Additionally, there is some opposition from at least a few schools to the CSC participation agreement as currently drafted.

The latest update from the College Sports Commission reports  $ 355 million of cleared deals as of July 1, 2026 – this is a fraction of the estimated annual $ 1 Bilion plus third-party NIL market. Some of the difference can be attributable to the NIL Collective “money dump” prior to the July 1, 2025 start of CSC enforcement, but this still leaves a boatload of missing money.  This is unfortunate, as the CSC is a vital tool in having all schools playing by the same rules. The CSC is living up to its responsibilities, but a fair number of schools are clearly not. 

NIL Collectives:

With the advent of Revenue Sharing, the influence of collectives at most schools has greatly diminished with many schools bringing activities previously conducted by collectives in-house.  NIL collectives are typically considered third-party entities and contracts exceeding $ 600 must be submitted to the College Sports Commission for approval.  

 

Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com

Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC  Image