What's the price of a championship run? The Miami Hurricanes have shown they're willing to pay whatever it takes to find out.
On Sept. 16, The Athletic published a registry of the estimated roster budgets of all 68 college football teams in the Power 4 conferences (Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC) plus Notre Dame. And to no one's surprise, Miami was near the top of the list, coming in sixth with an estimated player budget between $44 million and $50 million.
They're one of eight teams paying at least $40 million for their players. Two of the teams ahead of them — No. 1 Ohio State and No. 5 Texas A&M — lost to the Hurricanes during last year's College Football Playoff. Miami is far and away the highest-spending team in the ACC; the second-biggest
spender in the conference is Clemson, putting out about $15 million to $20 million less than UM.
Texas, LSU and Texas A&M round out the top 5 in The Athletic's budgetary rankings. The site said it gathered estimates from sources inside and outside each program, from front offices to boosters and agents. The figures listed were the amount of money each school had to build its 2026 roster, "setting aside any player income not managed or controlled by the football program, such as endorsements with national brands."
Miami football spending smartly in NIL
Miami's spending habits haven't exactly been a secret in the era of name, image and likeness deals. But it's only in the past few seasons that those payments have resulted in on-field success, as the South Florida boosters' budgets have married with the recruiting acumen of coach Mario Cristobal, who came back to his alma mater in 2022.
The Canes have brought in some of the biggest quarterbacks in the transfer portal over the past three seasons, moving from Cam Ward (got $2 million in NIL deals, according to On3) to Carson Beck ($3 million) and now Darian Mensah ($6 million, the most in all of college sports).
The Canes budget goes behind the QB. On3's NIL valuations have five Miami players on its top 100: Mensah, center Jackson Cantwell, edge rusher Damon Wilson II, receiver Malachi Toney and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten. Mensah and Toney are early leaders in the Heisman Trophy race, Moten was a major piece of the defensive front that propelled Miami to the national championship game last season, and Wilson will be key in replacing the departed Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. Freshman Cantwell likely will be the offensive line's cornerstone once Ryan Rodriguez, the only returning starter from the 2025 O-line, graduates.
Big budgets don't always yield results. Oregon ranks second in The Athletic's rankings but is currently in crisis after plummeting from preseason No. 2 to No. 18 after a tight win over Boise State and a backbreaking loss at Oklahoma State, one of the lowest spending teams in the Power 4. And teams don't have to break the bank to find success: Georgia constantly ranks in the top 5 yet has an NIL budget the equivalent of Nebraska and Auburn.
But by and large, the best teams in the country have spent the most on players, and Miami has proven that they deserve to be listed among the best.
How to watch Miami vs Wake Forest
- Date: Friday, Sept. 18
- Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live streaming: Fubo (free trial) | ESPN Unlimited
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Hurricanes spend how much on their football roster?
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