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Sunday, July 13, 2025

The Real Cost of College Football Recruiting

Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
*This piece first appeared in the Front Office Sports Newsletter. Subscribe today and get the news before anyone else.

Ever wonder what it costs to actually land a top recruiting class?

Thanks to Andy Wittry of Stadium, the picture is at least a little bit clearer. 

How much do schools spend?

Due to the fact that some institutions are private and others don’t have to report expenses thanks to state record laws, here’s a look at the 5 schools who spent the most on recruiting last season based on information available.  

1. Georgia – $2,626,622
2. Texas – $1,823,307
3. Clemson – $1,790,976
4. Texas A&M – $1,710,101
5. Florida State – $1,581,347

What do they spend it on?

At a program like Oregon, recruiting expenses in 2018 included everything from $96,520.00 spent on software subscriptions/licensing services to $272,580 on air travel. 

Does spending more = better classes?

Usually. According to Wittry, there’s a negative relationship between spending and class ranking. That means, the more a school spends on recruiting, the lower (better) its recruiting class ranking will be.

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