This past January, Ohio State won the 2025 College Football Championship with a roster that was worth $20 million dollars[1]. At the time, this was one of the most expensive rosters in college football. But now, with the House v. NCAA settlement finally getting approved, it looks like $20 million might not be enough to win it all.
While a $20 million dollar roster was enough to clutch the championship last year, it seems like it is going to take a lot more than that to be competitive this season. Before the House settlement was approved, the spring transfer portal period skyrocketed college roster values, as teams scrambled to get ahead of the revenue share era and overpay players[2]. There was a flood of NIL collective deals before the settlement that contributed to the rising cost of rosters during the offseason, with teams like Texas Tech raising about $63.3 million through their collective[3]. It is reported that Ohio State paid about $35 million for this year’s roster, while Texas reportedly spent around $35-40 million, although this has not been confirmed[4].
The House v. NCAA settlement was approved back in June, meaning that schools are now free to start paying their players directly. The settlement allows millions of dollars of revenue to be shared with players, with an annual cap starting at $20.5 million per school[5]. The settlement also put a limit on outside NIL deals, meaning that all deals over $600 would need to be submitted to a clearinghouse in order to determine if these deals were a “pay-for-play” in disguise[6]. But this did not stop these types of deals from being paid in full before the settlement was approved, which has allowed for the huge jump in roster values. It is being reported that the top of the college football roster market for the season is reaching around $40 million dollars[7].
Even with the approval of the House settlement, the landscape around NIL in college sports is ever-changing and filled with uncertainty. One thing is clear: NIL is here to stay. Colleges need to evaluate how much they can and are willing to pay for a chance to win it all.
[1] Amanda Christovich, The Most Expensive Roster Year in College Football History, Front Office Sports (August 30, 2025).
[2] John Talty, The race to keep up with $40 million rosters is shaking college football, CBS Sports (April 23, 2025).
[3] Christovich, supra note 1.
[4] Christovich, supra note 1.
[5] Dan Murphy, Judge OK’s $2.8B settlement, paving the way for colleges to pay athletes, ESPN (June 6, 2025).
[6] Christovich, supra note 1.
[7] Talty, supra note 4.
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