An exhaustive research project from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter that lasted nearly six weeks and relied on more than 100 sources across college sports found that $13.5 million is the average roster price across all 79 Power Five programs, plus Gonzaga.
That $13.4 million price tag is up from an average cost of $7 million last year.
CBS Sports shared context for their report, noting that many schools would drop down a tier if they didn't wind up having to pay fifth-year student-athletes. But they are financially tied to paying them until a legal decision is arrived at regarding fifth-year eligibility.
Across the conferences, the SEC came at an average roster size of $17.3 million, followed by Big East ($13.6 million), the Big Ten ($12.7 million), the Big 12 ($12.6 million) and the ACC ($11.9 million).
The report breaks down individual teams be tiers, according to the amount each spent on their roster.
Tier 1 — $20M+
- Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, St. John’s, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech
- Florida, Louisville and Kentucky top $25M and Louisville has outspent everyone over three years. Duke benefits from a so-called “Duke Discount” — players take less for the brand.
Tier 2 — just under $20M
- Arkansas, UConn, Indiana, Kansas
- All on the brink of $20M; Kansas could cross it if eligibility cases break its way.
Tier 3 — $15.1M–$17.5M
- Arizona, Auburn, Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Houston, Miami, Michigan State, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M, USC, Vanderbilt
- South Carolina is the surprise, picked last in the SEC despite spending here.
Tier 4 — $12.1M–$15M
- Alabama, Baylor, BYU, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, Maryland, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Providence, SMU, UCLA, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia, Xavier
- Alabama consistently overachieves relative to its budget.
Tier 5 — $10M–$12M
- Clemson, Georgia, Iowa State, Minnesota, NC State, Nebraska, Syracuse, TCU, Wisconsin
- Georgia is the lowest-spending SEC team, and it’s still above $10M.
Tier 6 — $7.1M–$9.9M
- Arizona State, Butler, Cal, DePaul, Florida State, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Seton Hall, UCF, Utah, Virginia Tech
- Purdue stands out: 12 NCAA Tournament wins in five years, built without non-grad transfers.
Tier 7 — $5M–$7M
- Boston College, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Wake Forest, Washington
- No high-major spends under $5M. Stanford spends the least. K-State and Washington have dropped sharply from big-spender status two years ago.
