The reality of college football spending is such that even Curt Cignetti, who is known to be conservative when it comes to NIL spending, has labeled the state of NIL deals as “scary” and untenable. Despite this reality, an SEC program has chosen to live in denial, frequently underestimating the costs of their roster. In response, 50 college football experts have joined forces to dispel their claims.

A group of 50 college football experts — including Power Four athletic directors, general managers, personnel executives, salary cap experts, agents, and boosters — brought together by CBS Sports analyzed college football programs to figure out the ones with the most expensive rosters. Their analysis revealed there are seven college programs with rosters valued at over $40 million.

This is in contrast with what the Texas Longhorns believe about their program. Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns have always been on the defensive when it comes to outside estimations of their roster value.

Their claim is that these figures are either overblown or absolutely misrepresented by the media. To prove them wrong, these experts have come up with their analysis.

“Texas is a little more reserved about its spending prowess in 2026, however, with multiple program sources pushing back against the idea the Longhorns have a roster that exceeds $40 million,” CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer and John Talty wrote. “Nobody outside of Austin is buying it, though — and we’ve spent weeks trying to drill down to the most accurate number for Texas. Under $40 million? The math does not add up.”

The alleged SEC “lie” is Texas’s reported insistence that its 2026 football roster costs less than $40 million, despite multiple independent industry estimates placing the Longhorns above that mark.

The disagreement reflects more than ordinary public-relations spin: college football still lacks transparent accounting separating school revenue sharing, collective payments, third-party NIL deals and player valuations.

In the past, Sarkisian has claimed that the public valuation of his roster often surpasses the exact figure by at least $10 million. The explanation is that the media often combines other third-party endorsement deals with the payments these players make from their programs, making the figures often inaccurate.

To curb this, Sarkisian had even asked that college football adopt a transparent style, like the NFL, where figures are clearly stated, to avoid speculation.

However, someone in the business debunked the idea that third-party deals were being used to inflate the program’s expenses. One of the consulted Power Four general managers gave a clear insight into how programs can easily assess their spending.

According to him, programs can predict they have crossed the $40 million mark once they can pick out “six to seven high-dollar kids” on their roster. It is exactly the case with the Longhorns, who have several other stars who are projected first-round picks.

The likes of edge rusher Colin Simmons, Trevor Goosby, and linebacker Rasheem Biles, when joined with Arch Manning and Cam Coleman, make it almost impossible for the program not to cross the $40 million mark.

Other programs with over $40 million rosters

There are six other programs that were confirmed to have surpassed the $40 million mark. Of the programs on the list, the LSU Tigers are said to have crossed the $50 million mark already, as projected by several sources.

While this was a result of the transfer portal activities that followed the appointment of Lane Kiffin, the Tigers are the only program to have spent that much.

The Miami Hurricanes, under Mario Cristobal, are also on the list of biggest spenders. A good part of their $40 million+ roster value comes from quarterback Darian Mensah. With CJ Carr as the program’s big price tag, Notre Dame is also on the list due to their high school investment and high-ranking recruiting classes.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are on the list, with Jeremiah Smith as the big price tag. The Oregon Ducks are on the list, with arguably the best quarterback in college football, Dante Moore, taking up a huge part of their NIL spending.

Texas A&M Aggies have also been estimated to have a roster value of over $40 million. With the evolution happening in college football, the $40 million tag will not just be for a few programs, but will be the standard, just as Curt Cignetti has predicted.