Texas Tech Flexing Its NIL Muscle as One of the Biggest Spenders in College Football

While much of the media spotlight gravitates toward blueblood brands tossing out eight-figure NIL packages, Texas Tech has been quietly—and now not-so-quietly—outspending most of the country. The system they’ve built is so robust that Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti called them out by name in a recent CBS Sports interview, lumping them in with the sport’s heaviest financial hitters.

“Right now, I understand that is Oregon, Ohio State, Texas… Texas Tech because of their oil money,” Cignetti said. “There’s five or six [programs] out there that have unlimited NIL resources. It’s kind of scary for everybody else.”

Cignetti didn’t stop there. He believes some programs are spending upward of $40 million on roster acquisition alone. Based on current recruiting momentum and transfer portal dominance, Texas Tech certainly appears to be in that tier.

Just look at the numbers: 12 of Tech’s 18 transfer additions this cycle are rated as four-star players. That kind of haul doesn’t happen by accident, and it doesn’t come cheap.

As the sport hurtles toward the House v. NCAA settlement, set to legalize direct pay-to-play compensation starting July 1, 2025, the spending game will shift dramatically. A $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap will provide new structure—but until then, it’s the wild west. And Texas Tech is riding at full gallop.

The Red Raiders aren’t just keeping up with the Joneses. They might be outspending them.