CBS Sports on Monday wrote about the most expensive rosters in college football. There were seven teams with $40 million-plus rosters and five others that trailed just behind. The tally has it as six from the SEC (LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee), four from the Big Ten (Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, USC), one from the ACC (Miami) and an independent (Notre Dame).
But what about the teams that didn't make the list? CBS Sports spoke to more than 50 sources in reporting its story on roster costs, including this conference-by-conference breakdown over at 247Sports, and there were a few surprising exclusions. The defending national champions didn't make the list.
Neither did Texas Tech, the posterchild for NIL spending, or Alabama, the dominant dynasty of the 21st century. So what led to those teams missing the list? This is what sources are telling CBS Sports about the state of each program -- and roster.
The "Nick Saban discount" carried Alabama in the early years of NIL with the program able to succeed in spite of a smaller warchest than many of its rivals. Over Saban's last three seasons in Tuscaloosa, Alabama spent less total ($19.7 million) than any SEC program will spend on a single season roster in 2026. Alabama has come a long way since the end of the Saban era but it is still a level or two below the elite spenders in the low $30 millions range.
Never was that more evident than in the winter transfer portal when the Tide landed North Carolina State transfer running back Hollywood Smothers, filling a major need, only for Smothers to flip to a richer Texas Longhorns program. The Tide start the preseason ranked No. 13, thier lowest ranking since 2008, and it isn't a huge surprise when you review their roster. While rivals are spending big on transfer quarterbacks and instant impact players, Alabama has real potential but few proven elite players coming into the season.
It has prioritized spending on its high school recruiting rather than expensive portal shopping -- Alabama signed the SEC's 9th-best transfer class in 2026 -- which could pay off if former five-star quarterback Keelon Russell wins the starting job and lives up to the hype. The Red Raiders were probably a surprising exclusion on the top spenders list for many. After all, they're the headliner of the NIL era, a program that's lifted itself above the rest of the Big 12 in large part because of its investments and willingness to spend.
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