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Who has enough money to build a national championship college football roster?
Not Indiana, according to its coach.
Curt Cignetti, who guided the Hoosiers to last season's College Football Playoff, discussed the roster-building landscape with CBS Sports as the spring transfer portal sees hundreds of players switching schools.
The Hoosiers' coach estimated building a top-flight roster could run $40 million for the upcoming season, and that's not a sum he can access.
"I think our little pot of gold is pretty nice, but we're not at $40 million. Or $30 million. Or even $25 million," he said.
There are plenty of unknowns in the process. Schools are tampering with players on opposing rosters with promises of high name, image and likeness sums, and the possibility of a House v.NCAA settlement could lead to revenue sharing with players.
"This is an unprecedented couple days, weeks, where everybody's waiting on this rev share, and the five or six out there that have unlimited NIL resources, it's kind of scary for everybody else," Cignetti said.
Transfer portal issues: What positions does IU need to target in the spring?
Exact totals for roster expenditures aren't available, but Cignetti believes $40 million is possible for the upcoming season. CBS reported that some schools may have hit $30 million last season.
CBS previously reported that 10 schools spent $10 million on 2024-25 men's basketball rosters — including IU — and that total could rise significantly for next season. The potential overlap between sports isn't coincidental, Cignetti said.
"I mean if you want to be the best, you got to be able to compete against the best," Cignetti said. "Right now I understand that is Oregon, Ohio State, Texas. … Texas Tech because of their oil money. I think Notre Dame's up there pretty good right now, too. Miami, of course."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti talks high cost of building roster
Continue reading...
Not Indiana, according to its coach.
Curt Cignetti, who guided the Hoosiers to last season's College Football Playoff, discussed the roster-building landscape with CBS Sports as the spring transfer portal sees hundreds of players switching schools.
The Hoosiers' coach estimated building a top-flight roster could run $40 million for the upcoming season, and that's not a sum he can access.
"I think our little pot of gold is pretty nice, but we're not at $40 million. Or $30 million. Or even $25 million," he said.
There are plenty of unknowns in the process. Schools are tampering with players on opposing rosters with promises of high name, image and likeness sums, and the possibility of a House v.NCAA settlement could lead to revenue sharing with players.
"This is an unprecedented couple days, weeks, where everybody's waiting on this rev share, and the five or six out there that have unlimited NIL resources, it's kind of scary for everybody else," Cignetti said.
Transfer portal issues: What positions does IU need to target in the spring?
Exact totals for roster expenditures aren't available, but Cignetti believes $40 million is possible for the upcoming season. CBS reported that some schools may have hit $30 million last season.
CBS previously reported that 10 schools spent $10 million on 2024-25 men's basketball rosters — including IU — and that total could rise significantly for next season. The potential overlap between sports isn't coincidental, Cignetti said.
"I mean if you want to be the best, you got to be able to compete against the best," Cignetti said. "Right now I understand that is Oregon, Ohio State, Texas. … Texas Tech because of their oil money. I think Notre Dame's up there pretty good right now, too. Miami, of course."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti talks high cost of building roster
Continue reading...
