Clemson spending upwards of $30 million on its football roster

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The amount of money it takes to build an elite college football roster is anyone’s guess, though we can safely say that NC State doesn’t have that kind of money on hand. And almost certainly never will, unless a billionaire benefactor materializes from thin air.

What are the major football powers spending these days? Clemson offers some insight: at least $25 million, probably.

Exactly how much schools are spending remains one of the sport’s best-kept secrets. Multiple industry estimates have suggested elite programs could spend well north of $25 million annually on football rosters under the new revenue-sharing model.

TigerNet has heard Clemson’s total football roster investment could approach $30 million this season if certain incentive clauses built into player agreements are reached.

“That level of investment needs to be top 15 in the country,” Neff said. “That’s where our sense is that it is. Exactly what that looks like or how it’s allocated is hard to tell because it’s gray nationally.”

That figure is well above the total amount of money that schools are allowed to allocate to all sports–an amount that is increasing each year, but is still well below $25 million. If a school is spending $30 million on football, then probably half of that money is coming from its NIL collectives. Some places obviously have the donor base to make that workable while also supporting basketball, while others (ahem) do not.

It’s no guarantee of success–all Clemson got for its money last year was a Pinstripe Bowl loss–but for establishing a certain base talent level needed to realistically win in the playoffs, this is what it takes.

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