College football insider sets the record straight on $40 million roster claims

Former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron added fuel by claiming on a podcast that some teams have $40–50 million in NIL while Alabama is "less than $20 million." McCarron said the number came from “multiple people in the program.”

Reality, however, lands lower. On3’s mid-July survey of 17 stakeholders (coaches, administrators, collectives and agents) identified the sport’s biggest spenders for 2025 and put Ohio State among the top rosters — north of $35 million — while Texas Tech was pegged at more than $28 million.

The spending surge coincides with college sports’ first season of revenue sharing. Under terms of the House v. NCAA settlement framework, schools may share up to $20.5 million directly with athletes in 2025-26, a cap that is expected to rise roughly 4% annually to about $32.9 million by 2034-35. Many SEC programs plan to steer about three-quarters of that pool to football — roughly $13–14 million.

Third-party NIL dollars have not disappeared. In fact, many collectives "front-loaded" deals this summer before a new national clearinghouse began stricter oversight of agreements. The NCAA’s newly created College Sports Commission now requires athletes to report third-party NIL deals totaling $600 or more, while collectives raced to move money on June 30 ahead of those rules.

Even with swelling budgets, $40 million remains more of a talking point than an actual number. $20 million seems to be the price of admission to compete at the top as 15–20 Power Four programs are around or above that figure — notably Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Miami and others.

There are disparate paths to success. Illinois finished 10–3 in 2024 on what coach Bret Bielema has said was roughly a $5 million roster budget.

As for Alabama, McCarron’s "under $20 million" claim is in dispute. Public records show the Crimson Tide spent about $5.2–$5.3 million on recruiting in 2024 (top-five nationally) and the department says it will fully fund the new revenue-sharing model. Combined with ongoing collective activity through Yea Alabama, the Tide’s total football compensation this season likely approaches, but does not clearly exceed, the $20 million line.