Average Power Conference 2026 Football Roster will exceed $ 23 million:
We estimate Power Conference football teams will have a median roster cost of $ 23 million for the 2026 season, with half of SEC teams above $ 30 million. Players are paid via a combination of revenue sharing and third-party NIL:
Median FBS Roster Costs
by Conference 2026-27
Total Payments
to Players ($)Paid by School via
Revenue Sharing Paid via Third-Party
Commercial NIL *
SEC 30,161,000 15,600,000 14,561,000
Big Ten 24,408,000 15,600,000 8,808,000
Big 12 21,607,000 15,600,000 6,007,000
ACC 21,240,000 15,600,000 5,640,000
Power 4 Median ($) $ 23,147,000 $ 15,600,000 $ 7,547,000
Estimated 2026 Football Roster Costs for all 68 Power Conference teams:
Estimated Roster Costs
P4 Football Teams 2026 *
ConferenceRoster Cost
Estimate ($)
Texas SEC 46,485,000
Oregon Big Ten 43,405,000
Louisiana State SEC 40,966,000
Ohio State Big Ten 40,421,000
Miami ACC 38,629,000
Notre Dame Independent 38,448,000
Texas A&M SEC 36,797,000
Alabama SEC 36,490,000
Georgia SEC 35,173,000
Southern Cal Big Ten 34,728,000
Tennessee SEC 33,696,000
Texas Tech Big 12 33,320,000
Michigan Big Ten 32,964,000
Mississippi SEC 31,815,000
Oklahoma SEC 31,470,000
Penn State Big Ten 29,208,000
Auburn SEC 28,852,000
Florida SEC 28,524,000
Clemson ACC 27,786,000
Missouri SEC 27,505,000
Nebraska Big Ten 27,440,000
South Carolina SEC 27,355,000
Indiana Big Ten 27,253,000
Florida State ACC 26,391,000
Washington Big Ten 26,357,000
Vanderbilt SEC 25,457,000
Kentucky SEC 24,538,000
Wisconsin Big Ten 24,484,000
Houston Big 12 24,456,000
UCLA Big Ten 24,332,000
Arkansas SEC 23,935,000
Maryland Big Ten 23,720,000
Iowa Big Ten 23,649,000
Colorado Big 12 23,179,000
Michigan State Big Ten 23,115,000
Brigham Young Big 12 23,041,000
Mississippi State SEC 22,942,000
Texas Christian Big 12 22,683,000
Minnesota Big Ten 22,575,000
Oklahoma State Big 12 22,146,000
Southern Methodist ACC 22,044,000
Utah Big 12 21,947,000
Virginia Tech ACC 21,908,000
Louisville ACC 21,906,000
North Carolina ACC 21,876,000
Illinois Big Ten 21,854,000
Georgia Tech ACC 21,750,000
Kansas State Big 12 21,690,000
Arizona State Big 12 21,524,000
Rutgers Big Ten 21,321,000
Pittsburgh ACC 21,240,000
Virginia ACC 21,084,000
Northwestern Big Ten 21,035,000
Baylor Big 12 20,967,000
West Virginia Big 12 20,925,000
Duke ACC 20,492,000
North Carolina State ACC 20,456,000
Arizona Big 12 20,401,000
California ACC 20,378,000
Purdue Big Ten 20,367,000
Stanford ACC 20,324,000
Iowa State Big 12 20,098,000
Syracuse ACC 20,074,000
Cincinnati Big 12 20,049,000
Wake Forest ACC 20,022,000
Kansas Big 12 19,900,000
Central Florida Big 12 19,800,000
Boston College ACC 18,797,000
* Data on third-party NIL is private, and 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 likely on the conservative side. Alabama’s General Manager has stated that some schools are spending over $ 40 million to assemble championship contending teams, which is consistent with our data. There is some unsupported speculation about possible current season $ 60 million football rosters, but as we occasionally say in the accounting biz, those are clown numbers bro. See our methodology page for how we arrived at these estimates.
We currently do not have 2026 estimates for Group of 6 football teams solid enough to post. But best indications are that most G6 football team roster costs are likely in the range of $ 1 million to $ 3 million (virtually all revenue sharing) which is consistent with the 22% of athletic revenue benchmark arrived at in the House v NCAA settlement. However there are a handful of CFP aspiring G6 schools clearly paying much higher than this.
NCAA I Football Coach Salary Ranges:
SEC head football coaches now average over $ 9 million per year in annual compensation, and a few are above $ 12 million per year. Not a big mystery why coaches jump conferences:
Head Football Coach
Compensation ($) *Average
per teamHigh ($) Low ($)
SEC 9,244,319 13,572,923 4,394,745
Big Ten 7,953,219 12,057,621 3,326,788
ACC 6,259,669 8,002,376 4,655,901
Big 12 5,688,492 8,595,985 3,787,805
Pac-12 2,098,798 2,584,128 1,224,958
American 1,933,504 2,648,219 1,148,591
Mountain West 1,330,989 2,624,195 514,104
Sun Belt 1,044,215 1,280,266 839,000
Mid-American 1,040,250 1,650,809 482,887
Conference USA 998,215 1,794,770 624,010
FCS Schools 414,907 816,377 195,576
P4 Teams ($) 7,442,552 13,572,923 3,326,788
G6 Teams ($) 1,360,974 2,648,219 482,887
FCS Teams ($) 414,907 816,377 195,576
* Per most recently available reporting from NCAA I public universities.
Average NCAA I Football Staff Payrolls:
Disparities in compensation aren’t limited to just player rosters, there is also a wide difference in football coaching and support staff payrolls:
Football Staff *
Average Payroll Average
per teamHead
CoachAssistant
CoachesSupport
StaffSeverance
Payments
SEC 26,931,774 9,244,319 9,782,757 6,755,549 1,149,149
Big Ten 24,205,387 7,953,219 9,237,918 6,211,297 802,952
ACC 22,082,473 6,259,669 8,325,283 6,291,013 1,206,508
Big 12 16,541,521 5,688,492 6,084,153 3,652,589 1,116,288
Pac-12 8,259,208 2,098,798 4,191,549 1,648,592 320,269
American 7,392,211 1,933,504 3,112,460 1,526,996 819,252
Mountain West 5,086,308 1,330,989 2,597,580 1,117,293 40,446
Sun Belt 4,613,206 1,044,215 2,261,675 1,096,231 211,085
Mid-American 3,817,671 1,040,250 2,018,379 598,582 160,460
Conference USA 3,475,314 998,215 1,780,657 499,121 197,322
FCS Schools 1,693,261 414,907 1,124,406 133,412 20,536
P4 Average ($) 22,440,289 7,442,552 8,398,241 5,677,340 10,40,427
G6 Average ($) 5,282,696 1,360,974 2,619,977 1,045,434 256,311
FCS Average ($) 1,693,261 414,907 1,124,406 133,412 20,536
* Per most recently available reporting from NCAA I public universities.
Roster Caps will have a significant effect on the College Football landscape:
As part of the House v NCAA settlement, scholarship limits have been removed, and roster caps have been established for each sport. For electing schools, NCAA I football rosters cannot exceed 105 players (subject to a phase-in) going forward. Since Power 4 schools had an average football roster of 130 players prior to the House settlement, this means there will be around 1,700 players otherwise on a Power 4 roster likely looking for a school to play at:
Effect of NCAA Roster Caps on
Power Conference football teams:
Average Power 4 Football Roster 130
New FBS Football Limit 105
Average number of players above cap 25
Total number of Power 4 Schools 68
Number of available Power 4 caliber Players 1,700
This is a significant recruiting windfall for Group of 6 and FCS teams due to the cascading effect of available talented players. What Group of 6 team wouldn’t seriously consider recruiting a football player talented enough to otherwise be on say an Alabama, Michigan or Southern Cal roster? G6 and FCS schools are also subject to roster limits, but due to the cascading effects of the talent pool, the net result is that their 105 player teams will likely be of a higher overall talent than they were prior to roster limits. And this was one of the primary objectives of the new framework … to prevent big budget schools from stockpiling talented players on oversized rosters in the NIL & revenue sharing era.
One of the interesting twists in the NIL era is that Group of 6 schools are not as competitively disadvantaged as many seem to think. Prior to the decision in House v NCAA, no team could legally compensate players other than by providing an athletic scholarship. But in the NIL era, many Power conference teams are now paying $ 30 million per year to assemble a football roster, while most G6 Schools will pay only a fraction of this to remain competitive, likely around $ 3 million. This is due to the massive difference in what a recruited player costs. A 5-star recruit can command close to $ 2 million per year, while a 4-star may run a team $ 500,000. These are the players Power conference schools aggressively recruit. And if you’re aiming to load up both sides of the ball with 4- and 5-stars your payroll is going to quickly escalate … a few schools now have annual roster costs approaching $ 50 million. And paying teen-age athletes millions of dollars per year is also a very risky bet. Some of your expensive recruits will end up as busts, but you’re still going to be on the hook for what may be a multi-million dollar contract.
Conversely, G6 schools rarely signed 4- or 5-star recruits even before NIL and revenue sharing came into the picture. Instead, G6 schools generally focus on 3-star recruits who might cost $ 50,000 per year, and 2-star recruits who get no compensation other than a scholarship. So in the NIL era it’s the Power Conference schools that must pay substantially more each year just to maintain their competitive position. Not surprisingly, it’s also the high spending (save me from myself) schools that are (accurately) calling the current NIL era unsustainable. Conversely, G6 schools simply don’t participate in the escalating and risky bidding wars for top recruits. And with the effect of roster limits, they may actually end up with teams that are more competitive than they were in prior years.
A recent study published by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and UT Dallas also came to the conclusion that NIL & revenue sharing will result in a more competitive balance between schools due to a wider distribution of talent across college programs. The study is especially compelling as it challenges several conventional assumptions about the competitive balance in intercollegiate athletics.
Athletic scholarship limits increased for NCAA I Football teams:
For NCAA I football, the athletic scholarship limit has been increased from 85 to 105, increasing the available scholarship money at most NCAA I schools:
2025 Scholarship Awards
NCAA I Football Teams *Conference Sub
Division2025
Roster # of
awardsAverage ($)
Award 2025
Potential ($)
Award 2026 Roster
Limit **
Akron MAC FBS 125 108 24,376 35,268 105
Alabama SEC FBS 132 111 49,748 66,125 105
Albany Coastal FCS 100 99 24,989 40,639 105
Appalachian State Sun Belt FBS 122 111 23,730 32,108 105
Arizona Big 12 FBS 113 133 35,893 62,723 105
Arizona State Big 12 FBS 123 118 47,751 67,576 105
Arkansas SEC FBS 127 128 33,896 50,376 105
Ball State MAC FBS 120 145 19,816 39,029 105
Boise State Pac-12 FBS 117 105 40,395 44,202 105
Bowling Green MAC FBS 108 112 26,653 36,359 105
Buffalo MAC FBS 118 98 48,333 51,624 105
Cal Poly Big West FCS 145 98 22,039 39,057 105
California ACC FBS 120 118 55,065 69,819 105
Central Connecticut Northeast FCS 101 91 15,462 33,720 105
Central Florida Big 12 FBS 120 124 30,778 43,593 105
Central Michigan MAC FBS 122 103 26,833 31,628 105
Charlotte American FBS 153 115 23,213 31,532 105
Cincinnati Big 12 FBS 120 85 47,478 49,454 105
Clemson ACC FBS 136 100 63,599 82,226 105
Colorado Big 12 FBS 118 109 47,768 65,905 105
Colorado State Pac-12 FBS 108 111 42,217 51,748 105
Connecticut Indep FBS 113 115 37,832 48,203 105
Eastern Illinois OVC FCS 117 93 22,730 31,882 105
Eastern Michigan MAC FBS 119 132 29,056 40,538 105
Eastern Washington Big Sky FCS 132 95 19,614 36,013 105
Florida SEC FBS 131 121 36,359 70,448 105
Florida State ACC FBS 124 117 34,686 39,706 105
Fresno State Pac-12 FBS 112 108 24,369 31,120 105
Georgia SEC FBS 135 114 35,288 52,351 105
Georgia Southern Sun Belt FBS 145 107 25,569 44,971 105
Georgia State Sun Belt FBS 118 126 31,242 43,044 105
Grambling State SWAC FCS 139 88 18,528 23,271 105
Hawaii Mountain West FBS 159 102 32,411 46,404 105
Houston Big 12 FBS 119 115 33,661 40,842 105
Idaho Big Sky FCS 116 85 26,062 42,045 105
Illinois Big Ten FBS 128 113 38,499 48,881 105
Illinois State MVC FCS 128 97 22,127 32,307 105
Indiana Big Ten FBS 114 88 60,408 58,399 105
Iowa Big Ten FBS 149 99 41,682 48,734 105
Iowa State Big 12 FBS 135 102 32,830 42,054 105
James Madison Sun Belt FBS 121 117 32,734 45,615 105
Kansas Big 12 FBS 122 85 50,686 50,420 105
Kansas State Big 12 FBS 154 109 30,332 39,973 105
Kennesaw State CUSA FBS 148 108 27,609 34,470 105
Kent State MAC FBS 146 102 29,835 38,335 105
Lamar Southland FCS 119 98 22,928 34,889 105
Louisiana Lafayette Sun Belt FBS 142 104 31,273 40,072 105
Louisiana Monroe Sun Belt FBS 140 82 26,858 29,145 105
Louisiana State SEC FBS 115 85 53,471 45,797 105
Marshall Sun Belt FBS 118 134 20,096 30,332 105
Maryland Big Ten FBS 120 109 50,364 65,294 105
Massachusetts MAC FBS 141 75 58,354 59,521 105
McNeese State Southland FCS 117 93 19,295 23,606 105
Miami of Ohio MAC FBS 161 114 35,684 50,811 105
Michigan Big Ten FBS 139 111 72,244 86,131 105
Michigan State Big Ten FBS 119 110 57,475 64,830 105
Minnesota Big Ten FBS 117 111 43,233 51,913 105
Mississippi SEC FBS 126 127 37,212 55,220 105
Mississippi State SEC FBS 110 116 35,321 53,993 105
Mississippi Valley State SWAC FCS 98 63 9,190 17,663 105
Missouri SEC FBS 119 112 37,277 53,321 105
Missouri State CUSA FBS 96 95 22,659 32,353 105
Montana Big Sky FCS 134 95 27,399 44,116 105
Montana State Big Sky FCS 116 102 28,914 44,558 105
Nebraska Big Ten FBS 155 116 32,955 44,411 105
Nevada Mountain West FBS 117 116 32,066 49,244 105
New Hampshire Coastal FCS 105 85 36,700 53,236 105
New Mexico Mountain West FBS 117 85 44,310 50,539 105
New Mexico State CUSA FBS 149 114 30,487 39,619 105
Nicholls State Southland FCS 131 84 16,125 23,829 105
Norfolk State MEAC FCS 143 85 24,796 36,985 105
North Carolina ACC FBS 123 118 31,023 45,931 105
North Carolina A&T Coastal FCS 146 77 9,691 17,178 105
North Carolina State ACC FBS 125 114 30,909 44,314 105
North Dakota Summit FCS 107 95 22,477 32,145 105
North Dakota State Mountain West FBS 130 85 21,615 29,892 105
North Texas American FBS 165 121 21,972 29,869 105
Northern Arizona Big Sky FCS 120 84 34,208 41,162 105
Northern Illinois Mountain West FBS 143 119 24,815 33,988 105
Northern Iowa MVC FCS 105 97 17,623 27,479 105
Northwestern State Southland FCS 117 54 31,534 33,403 105
Ohio MAC FBS 136 105 38,062 41,249 105
Ohio State Big Ten FBS 148 114 50,653 60,509 105
Oklahoma SEC FBS 128 97 50,431 60,504 105
Oklahoma State Big 12 FBS 136 111 25,787 39,353 105
Oregon Big Ten FBS 126 111 50,059 65,586 105
Oregon State Pac-12 FBS 134 105 35,566 46,740 105
Penn State Big Ten FBS 130 104 58,918 63,133 105
Portland State Big Sky FCS 118 93 23,160 37,085 105
Purdue Big Ten FBS 126 127 37,876 50,795 105
Rhode Island Coastal FCS 100 77 43,857 56,870 105
Rutgers Big Ten FBS 137 121 62,458 71,187 105
Sacramento State MAC FBS 155 112 21,268 32,240 105
Sam Houston State CUSA FBS 127 106 24,784 31,587 105
San Diego State Pac-12 FBS 116 109 34,886 44,937 105
San Jose State Mountain West FBS 103 85 40,702 39,541 105
South Carolina SEC FBS 152 85 68,175 66,856 105
South Dakota State Summit FCS 132 85 16,858 22,911 105
South Florida American FBS 130 115 27,828 38,375 105
Southeast Missouri State OVC FCS 104 97 15,246 24,777 105
Southeastern Louisiana Southland FCS 147 99 17,909 29,912 105
Southern SWAC FCS 95 84 12,628 19,482 105
Southern Illinois MVC FCS 105 101 22,184 31,341 105
Southern Miss Sun Belt FBS 113 85 30,652 31,345 105
Southern Utah WAC FCS 110 102 17,606 30,048 105
Stephen F. Austin Southland FCS 140 85 30,623 36,588 105
Stony Brook Coastal FCS 116 80 37,882 46,632 105
Tarleton State WAC FCS 128 109 21,962 30,778 105
Tennessee SEC FBS 123 109 56,364 92,131 105
Texas SEC FBS 118 112 40,557 49,964 105
Texas A&M SEC FBS 146 126 32,866 50,075 105
Texas State Pac-12 FBS 120 115 25,914 37,058 105
Texas Tech Big 12 FBS 123 110 25,904 33,528 105
Toledo MAC FBS 122 90 44,821 44,058 105
Towson Coastal FCS 106 78 35,065 44,027 105
UC Davis Big West FCS 116 87 32,941 45,210 105
UCLA Big Ten FBS 153 120 47,535 62,537 105
UNLV Mountain West FBS 113 130 34,437 42,072 105
Utah Big 12 FBS 126 123 46,405 60,192 105
Utah State Pac-12 FBS 155 116 22,286 33,560 105
Utah Tech Big Sky FCS 156 112 14,588 23,895 105
UTEP Mountain West FBS 114 85 35,456 40,479 105
UTSA American FBS 118 110 28,701 34,328 105
Virginia ACC FBS 127 110 62,026 75,988 105
Virginia Tech ACC FBS 124 122 42,079 65,734 105
Washington Big Ten FBS 151 122 50,194 69,130 105
Washington State Pac-12 FBS 124 88 49,268 55,210 105
Weber State Big Sky FCS 109 111 17,094 30,328 105
West Virginia Big 12 FBS 127 127 27,563 52,200 105
Western Carolina Southern FCS 180 90 15,044 20,932 105
Western Illinois OVC FCS 134 94 16,274 27,154 105
Western Kentucky CUSA FBS 112 85 27,142 33,683 105
Western Michigan MAC FBS 113 116 28,025 33,199 105
William & Mary Coastal FCS 105 69 47,294 60,765 105
Wisconsin Big Ten FBS 122 124 45,961 63,378 105
Wyoming Mountain West FBS 117 131 28,416 42,337 105
Youngstown State Horizon FCS 145 100 17,211 26,045 105
Average - 137 Teams * 126 104 33,520 44,314 105
These are potential increases as athletic scholarship awards are optional. Schools can fully fund a sport, or award less than the maximum allowed. There is also a phase in period allowed to accomodate “grandfathered” players at schools with teams rosters exceeding 105 players.
* These averages are for NCAA I public Universities for which we have compiled data from available reporting.
** Roster limits are not mandatory. 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.
Total NCAA I Football teams 2026-27:
There are currently 364 NCAA I Schools of which 138 sponsor FBS programs, 126 sponsor FCS programs and 100 schools that do not sponsor football. Of the total number of NCAA I schools, 327 are participating in revenue sharing, and 37 have opted out:
| NCAA I Schools 2026-27 | Total # of Schools | Participating in Revenue Sharing |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| |
|||
| SEC | 16 | 16 | ||
| Big Ten | 18 | 18 | ||
| ACC | 17 | 17 | ||
| Big 12 | 16 | 16 | ||
| Pac-12 | 8 | 8 | ||
| American | 14 | 12 | ||
| Mountain West | 10 | 9 | ||
| Sun Belt | 14 | 14 | ||
| Mid-American | 13 | 13 | ||
| Conference USA | 10 | 10 | ||
| FBS Independents | 2 | 2 | ||
| Total FBS Teams | 138 | 135 | ||
| FCS Schools | 128 | 104 | ||
| NCAA I Schools w/o Football | 99 | 89 | ||
| Totals - NCAA I Schools | 365 | 328 |
Number of US College Football teams:
NCAA I teams represent about 30% of all US College football teams. There are also many opportunities to compete at schools in other divisions and athletic associations:
Intercollegiate Football
Programs 2026-27# of
Teams
NCAA I - FBS 138
NCAA I - FCS 126
NCAA II 161
NCAA III 239
NAIA 95
CCCAA 67
NJCAA 54
Other 4
Totals 884
We didn’t just make this stuff up … see our page on methodology and sources of information. Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC 
