Anonymous Coaches Sound Off on Rivals' NIL Spending, Financial Situation
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College football has always been a struggle between the haves and the have-nots. And the reality of those disparities have only been exacerbated in recent years with the introduction of NIL and, more recently, revenue sharing.
It’s difficult to avoid these sizable dollar figures in discussion of the sport, be that a coaches’ salary (or buyout), a conference’s media deal or the pay of a player in the transfer portal.
As the many private and public jabs coaches have taken at the well-resourced Texas Tech in the last few years indicate, coaches are well aware of the prevalence of the almighty dollar. To drive that point home, of them made allusions to or outright addressed their opponents’ financial situations in the anonymous scouting repots featured in Athlon Sports’ 2026 College Football Preview magazine.
Some brought up booster support, stingy spending, financial infrastructure and even specific decisions to pay or not pay certain players.
See what fellow coaches had to say about other programs’ finances below.
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Florida State
“They don’t have the booster support that people might think that they do.”
It’s no secret that FSU’s athletic department is in the hole. Sportico published an article in February titled “Florida State Became College Sports’ Debt King in FY25,” which explains the predicament the program is in with $437 million in athletics-related debt — a total later topped by Penn State.
While much of that red stems from recent renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium, there could soon be another eight-figure line item for the Seminoles if coach Mike Norvell does not show appreciable progress this season. Florida State is 7-17 over the last two seasons since Norvell signed an eight-year extension on the heels of an undefeated regular season and ACC title in 2023. Could 2026 be his last season in Tallahassee?
Norvell’s buyout would reportedly still be north of $50 million at the end of the coming season, making him one of the most expensive coaches to fire in the sport. If the anonymous coach is correct about the lack of booster support for the ‘Noles, Norvell may be able to withstand another subpar season before the cost to part ways becomes more palatable.
NC State
“I don’t think they really have the funds to compete at a high level in the ACC.”
“For a while, they could feed off the great players they had there with the Russell Wilsons, the Mario Williams-type guys. But I don’t get the sense that they have super deep pockets and that they’re able to be competitive with NIL.”
The Wolfpack retained two-year starting quarterback CJ Bailey for 2026, a boon for coach Dave Doeren’s squad after a resurgent season. However, NC State lost left tackle Jacarrius Peak (South Carolina), running back Hollywood Smothers (Texas) and wide receivers Terrell Anderson (USC) and Noah Rogers (Alabama) in the transfer portal.
The decimation of the supporting cast around Bailey is concerning. The Wolfpack reloaded at positions of need, but their portal haul still ranks in the bottom half of the ACC. Blowout losses to some of the conference’s top teams over the last two years reinforce the question about their standing relative to their peers.
Paying up to keep Bailey on campus is a good indicator of NC State’s ability to compete in the NIL and revenue sharing space. Still, such an investment makes the most sense if the rest of the roster is in a place to contend with the likes of Miami, SMU and Louisville.
Wake Forest
“They’re in a really good situation financially. They raised all of this money for new facilities right as NIL was starting to percolate. That’s allowed them to be incredibly competitive with paying guys. They’d have third-string guys making $150K. I know now, they’re a lot more proactive with giving money to guys who aren’t reaching out than they were even a few years ago.”
The Demon Deacons enjoyed their best season since 2021 in coach Jake Dickert’s debut. Wake Forest in turn parlayed that momentum — and financial support — into signing the best recruiting class in school history.
That infrastructure didn’t entirely insulate the Demon Deacons from the realities of the modern game. Defensive lineman Mateen Ibirogba (Texas Tech), tackle Melvin Siani (Texas) and wide receivers Chris Barnes (Oklahoma State) and Sterling Berkhalter (Texas) all departed in the transfer portal. Wake Forest also plucked its fair share of players from power conference programs, including quarterback Gio Lopez from rival North Carolina.
The Demon Deacons appear well-suited to remain competitive on and off the field in the ACC landscape.
Texas
“They made some bold moves. Obviously, there’s a ton of money in that program, so you’ve gotta feel like they made moves that they felt they had to make to make their program better. What’s that gonna look like after a loss or two? I don’t know.”
Based on preseason expectations — as the No. 1 team in the country and title favorite — the Longhorns’ 10-win season was something of a disappointment. The hype has hardly faded for Texas, which returns two of the best players in college football on either side of the ball in quarterback Arch Manning and edge rusher Colin Simmons.
But Steven Sarkisian and Co. did not sit idly in the transfer window. The Longhorns corralled one of the best portal classes in the country, headlined by wide receiver Cam Coleman (Auburn) and linebacker Rasheem Biles (Pittsburgh). Texas also added two power four starting running backs in Smothers (NC State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State) to upgrade its backfield next to Manning.
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There’s little question that the Longhorns have the willingness and funding to do whatever it takes to get over the hump. The 2025 team was supposed to be the team that got there, but three losses ultimately kept Texas out of the playoff. The schedule is even harder this fall, which explains some of the urgency around these high-profile adds.
Virginia
“I’ve heard good things about their NIL and the way that they’re structuring things. They’ve got a really unique incentive package for how they’re gonna do stuff to be sustainable and not have to pay boatloads of money up front to anyone, even if they’re a good player, but that it was still going to be able to incentivize guys to come while motivating them to get on the field.”
The Cavaliers were one of the biggest surprises in the country last fall. Coach Tony Elliott started the season on the hot seat, but when it was all said and done Virginia had set a new program record for wins in a season.
Without recruiting high school prospects at the same level as the ACC’s top programs, the Cavs expertly mine the transfer portal for impact players. Some of those stars, namely quarterback Chandler Morris and running back J’Mari Taylor, ran out of eligibility. That sent Elliott back to the well, where he landed quarterback Beau Pribula (Missouri), linebacker Matthew Fobbs-White (Baylor) and defensive lineman Zion Taylor (East Carolina).
Opponents will see UVA coming this time around after years of obscurity, but the system in Charlottesville looks to be sustainable for the time being.
BYU
“This is the year that they’ll get over the top. If they don’t this year, I don’t know that they ever will. The reason I say that is because of the influx of money they got with their roster.”
Expectations are high for the Cougars, who might be one of the only teams in the Big 12 that can challenge Texas Tech. The Brendan Sorsby situation could close the gap between the top two programs in the conference if he remains ineligible. BYU only lost two games last season — both were to the Red Raiders, and neither was close. But with so much returning production and a handful of impact additions, coach Kalani Sitake’s team could capture its first Big 12 title.
The fact that the Cougars only added nine transfers is evidence of the confidence they have in the team they return. BYU brought in All-ACC linebacker Cade Ulauve (Cal) and added size along the offensive line and in the tight end room. But the biggest wins were bringing back quarterback Bear Bachmeier, running back LJ Martin, wide receiver Parker Kingston, center Bruce Mitchell and linebacker Isaiah Glasker after all-conference campaigns.
It takes a lot to keep a core like that together. And though Texas Tech isn’t on the regular-season schedule, a rematch with the reigning conference champions could very well await in the Big 12 title game. This group seems well-equipped to put up a better fight than last season.
Penn State
“I don’t necessarily know that they’re gonna be immediately good in Year 1, but I thought the three big guys who followed (former defensive coordinator) Jim Knowles to Tennessee went for way more money than I would’ve paid them if I were Penn State. I thought they made a couple of really good adds. I also thought they kept a couple of really good players that could’ve left, like (linebacker) Tony Rojas. That’s a really good player that probably could’ve gone anywhere for a lot more money than what he got at Penn State.”
A huge chunk of the Nittany Lions’ newcomers followed coach Matt Campbell over from Iowa State. Quarterback Rocco Becht, running back Carson Hansen, tight end Ben Brahmer and linebacker Caleb Bacon were among the contingent that made the move from Ames to State College. That 38-player haul was only bested in 247Sports’ transfer rankings by LSU, Ole Miss and Texas.
As the anonymous coach pointed out, Penn State did lose three high-profile players on defense to Tennessee when Knowles was not retained. Edge rusher Chaz Coleman, defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam and linebacker Amare Campbell are the players in question.
Campbell did retain a handful of holdovers, including linebacker Tony Rojas, a key player on the 2024 team that made the CFP semifinals. Guard Anthony Donkoh is also on the short list of returners. It sounds like the Nittany Lions are being judicious with their funds as Campbell lays the foundation for his program. But the ease of their schedule could also spur quick results in Year 1.
Kansas
“They have money in the program now. (Coach) Lance Leipold has some juice.”
The Jayhawks’ ascent to the middle of the pack in the Big 12 is a testament to the work of coach Lance Leipold. The program had won 18 games total in the decade before he arrived in Lawrence. Now, Kansas has expectations to get back to bowl contention after the high-water mark of 2023.
The way back is through some of the transfer portal additions made around the quarterback position. The Jayhawks added a pair of running backs in Dylan Edwards (Kansas State) and Yasin Willis (Syracuse), plus wide receivers Nahzae Cox (Middle Tennessee) and Nik McMillan (Buffalo). Under center is the biggest question mark with Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall in a battle to replace Jalon Daniels, who started 45 games over six seasons.
KU also added SEC size in the trenches on both sides of the ball between guard Connor Stroh (Texas) and Kevin Oatis (Arkansas). The onus is now on Leipold to maximize this new-look group, but the trajectory of the program is pointed upward as investment increases.
UCLA
“I was blown away with what their NIL budget was a few years ago. It was unfathomably low. I don’t know if they’ve gotten that ramped up.”
The Bruins’ significant struggles since joining the Big Ten culminated in Deshaun Foster’s firing last September. Even the strange quarterback swap with Tennessee that landed Nico Iamaleava in Westwood couldn’t turn the tide for UCLA. But perhaps the arrival of coach Bob Chesney, along with a strong contingent of his former James Madison players, can help breathe some life into the program.
Chesney is a rising star in the industry who came up in the NIL atmosphere and got the most out of his talent in a short time at JMU. There will be an adjustment, though, from leading one of the better-resourced programs in the Sun Belt to jockeying for players in the Big Ten.
The makeup of Chesney’s first class is encouraging enough. There are plenty of players who followed their coach after a playoff run with the Dukes, like edge rusher Sahir West. But UCLA also snagged plenty of power four players, including linebacker Sammy Omosigho (Oklahoma), safety Tao Johnson (Utah) and wide receiver Aidan Mizell (Florida).
Related: Athlon Sports 2026 College Football Preview Magazine Available Now
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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