The cost of college football
- Thread starter ExtremeD23
- Start date
I read where one team was paying 45m+ for the 25 team. I think the number that can do that is small and the ones willing too is limited to 3-4 places.
Several of us predicted that that would be the outcome when the NIL news broke. The outcome is not surprising, the speed of it is a little surprising.
It's actually 40m+ this year, it's a new SEC team. That may not be as much as the defending champion paid for last year.
I thought OSU was at around $36mil. Seems like some of these schools might shell out like that to buy a championship, then back off a little. That can’t be sustainable year in and year out long term.
I hope this new business setup deal UK is doing helps put us in the upper echelon of NIL. Sounds like the Administration is finally coming around and trying to find creative ways to be competitive and be a player. Hope it works.
I figured as much, Ut and UTam can both afford a budget like that. Reminds me of how much fun it was during Steinbrenner's run.
It's one of them, I haven't heard what the other one is, but both could come up with it.
To compete this year, you will need a 40-50 mil roster and coordinators making over 2 mil.
The irony about nil numbers now is imo they are underreported to limit backlash. A complete 180 from them being inflated just as recently as two years ago.
Nil seems out of control but people keep spending the money despite no returns on investment other than seeing their team do well. I guess that's enough. It must be. There will be a breaking point but i have no idea what figure that will be.
Thats why i keep posting that UK fans need to adjust their expectations. UK is spending money but there will just be no way to compete with that kind of money.
The irony about nil numbers now is imo they are underreported to limit backlash. A complete 180 from them being inflated just as recently as two years ago.
Nil seems out of control but people keep spending the money despite no returns on investment other than seeing their team do well. I guess that's enough. It must be. There will be a breaking point but i have no idea what figure that will be.
Thats why i keep posting that UK fans need to adjust their expectations. UK is spending money but there will just be no way to compete with that kind of money.
There are 8-10 schools spending ingredients more than everyone else. Miami, Oregon, Texas, ATM, Michigan are spending more than anyone, twice as much as most schools. There are 40-50 sending in the 20-25 range and the rest of FBS spending less. Revenue sharing isn't going to change anything because it only limits what schools can spend..
I think the only way to get any kind of level field is to create multiple division and the amount of NIL being paid determines your division. Of course there will be cheaters, but tie it to the IRS where cheating equals penalties, fines and bad enough loss of freedom..
By all reports he was set to earn $2.5mm this year and he asked for $4mm. He's making $1mm+ at UCLA.
I saw a tweet recently that said Texas NIL payroll has now reach $50 Mil. Just for comparisons look at the Oakland Athletics a professional sports team, their payroll is $73 million, not that much more. And considering college football is just getting started with pay for play it won't be long before it may surpass some professional sports. I'm waiting for the day that some team pays some 19 year old hot shot QB more money they the head coach 🤣
Plus Ca has a 12% state income tax while Tb has no state tax. So this move, threat or whatever it was has ended up costing him about 1.7m$.
And to think it was the vols who got this multi million dollar deals for HS kids started, and sued for their right to do it.
I have said this here before, and
am more than happy to provide objective references for what I am saying. There is no rational reason UK cannot compete financially. UK is a very large University with many thousands of very successful graduates. UK has just as many potential revenue sources as most universities. More, in fact, than most. But, as in all things, it must start at the grass roots level.
In the near term, the poor economy inside the Commonwealth is a problem. But UK didn't do that. It is a statewide issue, related to poor governance and some historical trends. Mitch Barnhart has been working around all of that by forming corporate partnerships with out of state corporations like Kroger, Ford, Cintas, and JMI Sports. Many here refuse to credit Barnhart for this, although the approach has literally saved UK's athletics department. That's how disconnected from reality this board has become because of disinformation and irrational resentments.
www.jmisports.com
The anti-Barnhart crowd has told us that Mitch's "lack of support" is the problem. LOL! As I have explained here many times, Barnhart is not even in control. The Board of Trustees Committee in Athletics and its Chair David Melanson are in control. I don't expect everyone to grasp this right away, because there is too much confirmation bias, misunderstanding, and dogma about Barnhart. However, the transition to the LLC actually illustrates that UK and its athletics leadership are innovators. Thank goodness. References are presented again here, so it's time to acknowledge facts.
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
www.cbssports.com
www.uky.edu
ukathletics.com
ukathleticscampaign.com
kentucky15.com
clubbluenil.com
www.w1974.com
philanthropy.uky.edu
UK CAN compete in NIL. But NIL has been a moving target. Grass roots support within our fan base has not yet caught up. That's another fact, and each of you can ponder this.
Great credit should be given to Central Bank, Pernell Old Folks, Federal Credit Union, WOWK, and many local businesses and restaurants which have always "been there" for UK athletics despite the weak regional and instate economy. And UK has "given back" in many ways including the ongoing relationship with Rupp Arena which has literally revitalized our downtown.
OTOH, hostility and poor coverage by the Herald Leader have hurt UK for decades and deserve to be called out. With all of today's online alternatives, there is no longer any reason to subscribe to, or advertise in, the Lexington Herald-Leader.
am more than happy to provide objective references for what I am saying. There is no rational reason UK cannot compete financially. UK is a very large University with many thousands of very successful graduates. UK has just as many potential revenue sources as most universities. More, in fact, than most. But, as in all things, it must start at the grass roots level.
In the near term, the poor economy inside the Commonwealth is a problem. But UK didn't do that. It is a statewide issue, related to poor governance and some historical trends. Mitch Barnhart has been working around all of that by forming corporate partnerships with out of state corporations like Kroger, Ford, Cintas, and JMI Sports. Many here refuse to credit Barnhart for this, although the approach has literally saved UK's athletics department. That's how disconnected from reality this board has become because of disinformation and irrational resentments.
Comprehensive Partnership with Kroger Announced - JMI Sports
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky, JMI Sports and Kroger announced a comprehensive and unprecedented partnership that expands Kroger’s commitment to UK Athletics and the University of Kentucky, including the renaming of UK’s football stadium to Kroger Field. “This…
www.jmisports.com
Ford sponsors UK Athletics
The Ford F-150 is now the official sponsor of UK Athletics. Here’s the full release from UK. LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tradition, toughness, and success come to mind when thinking of University of Kentucky Athletics. Those terms also describe the Ford F-150 Truck, America’s best selling truck for 34...
kykernel.com
The anti-Barnhart crowd has told us that Mitch's "lack of support" is the problem. LOL! As I have explained here many times, Barnhart is not even in control. The Board of Trustees Committee in Athletics and its Chair David Melanson are in control. I don't expect everyone to grasp this right away, because there is too much confirmation bias, misunderstanding, and dogma about Barnhart. However, the transition to the LLC actually illustrates that UK and its athletics leadership are innovators. Thank goodness. References are presented again here, so it's time to acknowledge facts.
Univ. of Kentucky BOT committee approves new affiliated corporation to house athletics
The Univ. of Kentucky Board of Trustees’ athletics committee on Thursday voted to approve a plan for the formation of a new affiliated corporation called Champions Blue that will include UK Athletics.
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
Kentucky board of trustees approves shifting university's athletics department into limited liability company
A university press release calls the move 'perhaps the first of its kind'
www.cbssports.com
David Melanson | Board of Trustees
About The K Fund
ukathletics.com
K Fund - Invest In Blue - Home
ukathleticscampaign.com
Home - The 15 Club
THE Membership Club of Kentucky Athletics. Become a member today, and let’s make Kentucky the Gold Standard for NIL opportunities.
kentucky15.com
CLUB BLUE
Through NIL engagements and partnerships, we help businesses and fans connect with their favorite University of Kentucky athletes and sports programs.
clubbluenil.com
Home | The W1974 Collective
www.w1974.com
UK Fellows Society | University of Kentucky - Philanthropy
UK CAN compete in NIL. But NIL has been a moving target. Grass roots support within our fan base has not yet caught up. That's another fact, and each of you can ponder this.
Great credit should be given to Central Bank, Pernell Old Folks, Federal Credit Union, WOWK, and many local businesses and restaurants which have always "been there" for UK athletics despite the weak regional and instate economy. And UK has "given back" in many ways including the ongoing relationship with Rupp Arena which has literally revitalized our downtown.
OTOH, hostility and poor coverage by the Herald Leader have hurt UK for decades and deserve to be called out. With all of today's online alternatives, there is no longer any reason to subscribe to, or advertise in, the Lexington Herald-Leader.
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I have said this here before, and
an more than happy to provide objective references for what I am saying. There is no rational reason UK cannot compete financially. UK is a very large University with many thousands of very successful graduates. UK has just as many potential revenue sources as most universities. More, in fact, than most. But, as in all things, it must start at the grass roots level.
In the near term, the poor economy inside the Commonwealth is a problem. But UK didn't do that. It is a statewide issue, related to poor governance and some historical trends. Mitch Barnhart has been working around all of that by forming corporate partnerships with out of state corporations like Kroger, Ford, Cintas, and JMI Sports. Many here refuse to credit Barnhart for this, although the approach has literally saved UK's athletics department. That's how disconnected from reality this board has become because of disinformation and irrational resentments.
Comprehensive Partnership with Kroger Announced - JMI Sports
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky, JMI Sports and Kroger announced a comprehensive and unprecedented partnership that expands Kroger’s commitment to UK Athletics and the University of Kentucky, including the renaming of UK’s football stadium to Kroger Field. “This…
Ford sponsors UK Athletics
The Ford F-150 is now the official sponsor of UK Athletics. Here’s the full release from UK. LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tradition, toughness, and success come to mind when thinking of University of Kentucky Athletics. Those terms also describe the Ford F-150 Truck, America’s best selling truck for 34...kykernel.com
The anti-Barnhart crowd has told us that Mitch's "lack of support" is the problem. LOL! As I have explained here many times, Barnhart is not even in control. The Board of Trustees Committee in Athletics and its Chair David Melanson are in control. I don't expect everyone to grasp this right away, because there is too much confirmation bias, misunderstanding, and dogma about Barnhart. However, the transition to the LLC actually illustrates that UK and its athletics leadership are innovators. Thank goodness. References are presented again here, so it's time to acknowledge facts.
Univ. of Kentucky BOT committee approves new affiliated corporation to house athletics
The Univ. of Kentucky Board of Trustees’ athletics committee on Thursday voted to approve a plan for the formation of a new affiliated corporation called Champions Blue that will include UK Athletics.
Kentucky board of trustees approves shifting university's athletics department into limited liability company
A university press release calls the move 'perhaps the first of its kind'
David Melanson | Board of Trustees
About The K Fund
K Fund - Invest In Blue - Home
Home - The 15 Club
THE Membership Club of Kentucky Athletics. Become a member today, and let’s make Kentucky the Gold Standard for NIL opportunities.
CLUB BLUE
Through NIL engagements and partnerships, we help businesses and fans connect with their favorite University of Kentucky athletes and sports programs.
Home | The W1974 Collective
UK Fellows Society | University of Kentucky - Philanthropy
UK CAN compete in NIL. But NIL has been a moving target. Grass roots support within our fan base has not yet caught up. That's another fact, and each of you can ponder this.
Great credit should be given to Central Bank, Pernell Old Folks, Federal Credit Union, WOWK, and many local businesses and restaurants which have always "been there" for UK athletics despite the weak regional and instate economy. And UK has "given back" in many ways including the ongoing relationship with Rupp Arena which has literally revitalized our downtown.
OTOH, hostility and poor coverage by the Herald Leader have hurt UK for decades and deserve to be called out. With all of today's online alternatives, there is no longer any reason to subscribe to, or advertise in, the Lexington Herald-Leader.
I have posted multiple times i thought ADMB was a top AD. He pioneered the field getting sponsorship, now UK athletics is one of the first if not the first to transform their athletic department into a for profit LLC.
I guess he has made a bad hire but it sure looks like he has hit on all of them from the outside. He is being invaded and pioneering ways to bring more funds into the program that isn't costing the average fan.
I think people sometimes think the AD is all powerful, he works for UK, he has to answer to a president/chancellor, an athletic board and a board of trustees. He can't do anything without their approval. But they don't need his approval or even input to raise parking or tailgating fees.
The truth is that Mitch Barnhart can't re-wallpaper his office without Mr Melanson's approval. Regarding matters for which Barnhart gets ritually eaten alive here by the anti crowd (like NIL, hiring, and contracts), the remarkable irony is that Barnhart doesn't even make these decisions. That's how misinformed his critics really are. The reality is that Barnhart is part of a management team and is not at the top of the chain of command. Barnhart submits an annual budgetary draft. Barnhart recommends facility renovation/replacement decisons.
Barnhart oversees the formal vetting of job candidates and makes recommendations on that basis. Barnhart recommends terminations. But all of these departmental processes must be reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees Committee on Athletics, Chaired by Mr. David Melanson. None of the reviews and approvals are pro forma. Each is the final responsibility of the Board of Trustees. Nothing for which I have seen Barnhart blamed here on the website is actually decided in the final analysis by Barnhart himself. The degrees of comprehension and vicious hostility toward Barnhart and his place in the chain of command are remarkably ill informed here. I have presented links that prove it, but we will continue to see the same ritualistic hostile declarations toward Barnhart by people who just don't (won't) get it.
Examples. When John Calipari was hired, people refused to give any credit for it to Barnhart. They insisted Mike Pratt forced Cal on Barnhart. But when the fan base tired of Cal a decade later, they blamed that on Barnhart. When Cal tried to force a brand new basketball practice facility on UK at an inopportune time in the school's budgetary process, by going public with his manipulative grievances, Barnhart stood his ground and refused to allow Cal to divide UK's athletics department. But when Barnhart built on that act of resolve by manipulating Cal's ego into abruptly taking the AR job, not a single word of credit was given here to Barnhart although Cal's departure didn't cost UK a red cent.
Barnhart has been falsely blamed for UK's NIL situation, mostly by posters who don't actually contribute to UK NIL themselves. But not a single word of credit has been given here to Barnhart for UK's aggressive plan to transition to an LLC, or for Barnhart's aggressive corporate support deals with Kroger, Ford, Cintas, and other corporate supporters.
Earlier, in 2005, Barnhart withstood heavy pressure and refused to fire Rich Brooks despite vicious public outcries by the fan base at the time. Fans literally talked online about "running Brooks out of town". The result of Barnhart's resolve to support Brooks was the immediate reversal of UL's recent domination of that series and 5 straight subsequent UK bowl invitations, unprecedented in UK's football history at that time. Barnhart received no credit. It was an early indication that Barnhart would never be treated right by our fans.
When Barnhart assumed his duties here in 2002, UK's athletics department was known as one of the most corrupt in the country because of near-ubiquitous control of the department by corrupt boosters. At the time, UK was well known to be one sanction away from receiving the NCAA's "death penalty". Now, 23 years later, UK has one of the most highly respected athletics departments in the country, and Barnhart is one of the most influential men in the SEC. But "fire Barnhart" threads regularly appear on this website and one never sees any recognition, let alone appreciation, for all that Barnhart has done for UK and for our fan base. We have some of the cheapest football tickets in the SEC, and a state of the art stadium, but people complain here about pricing and publicly threaten to withdraw their support. When the SEC mandated alcohol-free events at a time in the past, some posters raled here against Barnhart. But when a drunk driver was leaving the stadium area and negligently killed pedestrians, barely a word of defense for Barnhart's prior efforts and decisions to clean up UK's events appeared here. Many other hypocritical examples can be cited.
All the reports I saw had OSU at around 20M last year. Of course, none of these numbers are confirmed. Also, with agents now involved, they are likely inflating numbers to media members to try and drive the numbers higher.
This is easily the single most judgmental post about other people I have EVER seen on the internet.
Not everyone is going to agree with everything you say or write.
They paid 12c1 weekend of the portal, the 2 from Bama. The RB from OM was wanting 1m. The number i saw may be wrong but it was almost 40m.
It will be interesting to see if a 12 to 15 million dollar squad can compete with the 35 and 40 million dollar squads and we play a lot of them. Our new approach is to field a team with players from upper MAC and lesser league teams. We will see if it works- I have my doubts!
The cost of college football was getting astronomical before players started wanting a little piece of the pie.
-strength coaches making half a mill
-recruiting coordinators make about a mil
-coaches and coordinators making what they make
-stadiums, facilities not only initial costs to build and/or renovate but maintain. The teams of engineers, plumbers, electricians etc in and out of the facilities weekly if not daily, especially during the season…charging about $50 an hour on labor alone plus other fees/expenses
On and on and on
The conference will probably make a billion dollars on football this year.
Real easy math dividing that up amongst the schools. Plus all the individual local media partnerships, plus the boosters, plus the funding from the masses.
-strength coaches making half a mill
-recruiting coordinators make about a mil
-coaches and coordinators making what they make
-stadiums, facilities not only initial costs to build and/or renovate but maintain. The teams of engineers, plumbers, electricians etc in and out of the facilities weekly if not daily, especially during the season…charging about $50 an hour on labor alone plus other fees/expenses
On and on and on
The conference will probably make a billion dollars on football this year.
Real easy math dividing that up amongst the schools. Plus all the individual local media partnerships, plus the boosters, plus the funding from the masses.
Yep.
He'd know that some people here did give MB credit for getting Cal out without costing us 30-40M, if he hadn't blocked all the posters that disagree with him or that offended him by not bowing down to him. If he could admit when he's wrong and not be so thin-skinned, things would be much different for him here.
I'd like to comment on his posts more, like the long one above, because there's a lot right in it, but I dont want to contribute to the messiah complex he has and bolster his ego regarding the rest that is just wrong.
If that is the most judgmental post you have seen here, you haven't read much on this website. In any case, it is true. I heavily referenced the post with established facts, exactly so that someone couldn't factually justify the criticism you offered. Sometimes the truth is hard to accept, but that doesn't make it less true. Which factual references in my post do you dispute?
First of all, I don't block posters. You manufactured that. People believe what they want to believe. I make a conscious effort to base what I say on established facts. You can believe whatever you want. But when you start accusing others of having a Messiah complex, being thin skinned, and so forth, you are personalizing. That generally happens when you cannot dispute factually. And BTW, I have been supportive of you, and have not criticized you. So this Messiah complex stuff is also manufactured. Why start personal conflicts on a sports website when you can just discuss the sport? Come on.
OSU’s AD mentioned 20M for last years team. That seems to roughly align with this post on X, which I don’t know how these numbers were gathered. I do think these numbers are increasing at a fast and scary pace for the 2025 season.
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Of course they OSU AD is going to underestimate. Mich has won 3-4 in a row, just won a NC. OSU was desperate, they paid the frosh QB 6M that signed with Bama and been on campus a couple days and the same to the AA S from Bama. Noidea what the RB from OM got but Mama was wanting a M. All their 3 year player whi would have been drafted returned. FSU offered the star WR that signed with them in 5m. They had near 20m in 4 players.
OSU has been a rogue program for years, Tressel was as dirty as anyone in the SEC, and we all know about Urban.
Wasn't it OSU's AD that made some kind of comment in the covid year, and changed the rules so OSU could make playoffs?
There is no way for either of us to prove what the true numbers were from last year. However, I feel very confident Julian Sayin didn’t get anywhere near 6M. Maybe if it was 6M across four years but no way 6M to come sit the bench for a year.
OSU already had a 5 star QB coming in as a freshman last year (Air Nolan). Sayin is the one that reached out to OSU after Saban left. It’s not like OSU was desperate to sign another 5 star QB in last years class.
I’d love to hear the source you’re getting these numbers from.
I think that might be the difference in numbers. Grumpy is giving the total of the deal numbers versus yearly numbers. I don’t trust the numbers coming out though, the tweet in the post above had Nico at 1.4 million and we saw that was actually 2.3 million per year.
