Maintaining a roster to compete in college football can be costly, especially for top programs like Ohio State. If you’re here, you might be wondering: how much money did OSU spend on its national championship roster?
Here’s the answer. It’s reportedly $20 million.
According to Ross Dellinger of Yahoo! Sports, Ohio State’s athletic director, Ross Bjork, revealed in 2024 that the number from the university’s NIL collectives and brand affiliates was “around $20 million.” This appears to be an increase from the estimated $13 million figure that head coach Ryan Day shared at an NIL event in 2022.
At the time, Day mentioned that his estimate was based on conversations with recruits and their family members and factored in special rates for certain positions, like $2 million for top quarterbacks and $1 million for offensive tackles or pass rush specialists.
Though, as Nick Saban said about the $20 million roster, it matters more who you pay than how much.
