What happens when college football enters its own Moneyball era?

New York Times

09-07-2025

Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic's weekly sports business cheat sheet.
Name-dropped today: Michael Lewis, Felix Ojo, Ben Shelton, Christian Horner, Steph Curry, Sophia Wilson, Joe Burrow, 'High School Musical,' Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, Mauricio Pochettino, Matthew Berry, John Legend and more. Let's go:
A fresh twist on Moneyball
This week, as the Big 12 kicks off college football conference media days outside of Dallas, the league finds itself at the center of the college sports universe thanks to Texas Tech, the newest financial superpower.
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A month ago, we were talking about TTU's million-dollar softball ace, NiJaree Canady. This week, it's the Red Raiders' multi-million-dollar offensive tackle Felix Ojo. Next, it could even be a commitment from the No. 1 football player in the Class of 2027, LaDamion Guyton.
If Michael Lewis' original 'Moneyball' was about lower-resourced teams capitalizing on market inefficiencies to compete with higher-resourced teams (see: early 2000s A's vs. the Yankees), 'Moneyball 2.0' is an evolution for this new NIL era: What if a mid-tier team — like Texas Tech — simply out-spent everyone else?
It's not novel, of course. Money has flowed into the hands of college athletes for over a century — but that wasn't exactly legal until recently. Ohio State's 2024 title was built on out-spending everyone else — but that mostly was about keeping its own star talent from leaving for the pros or other powers.
Texas Tech is openly leveraging the enthusiasm of billion-dollar boosters — on top of the $20 million revenue-sharing ante now available to every team — into recruiting the talent necessary to compete at the top of the Big 12, earn a College Football Playoff spot and join the ranks of the college 'blue bloods.' Call TTU and its nouveau-riche peers 'green bloods.'
The ultimate inefficiency of the college football market has always been 'willingness to pay without shame.' To the Red Raiders' credit, they are pushing the boundaries beyond their traditional (or even their previous NIL-era) limits, and — if all it takes is money? — they won't be the last.
(Remember: The blue bloods have money, too.)
A new American sensation at Wimbledon
Big talkers from the sports business industry:
Speaking of disruptive payouts in college sports: Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna officially committed to Penn State hockey last night. (Last verse, same as the first: *All it takes is money…*)
(If you're curious: Penn State … really? Go back to this definitive feature we ran back in April about the rise of Penn State's hockey program from nothing to … McKenna.)
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It's the heat: From Club World Cup to the Euros to looking ahead to the World Cup in 2026, the weather is THE story.
Ben Shelton vs. Wimbledon: With the 22-year-old Shelton taking the court this morning (U.S. time) for his Wimbledon quarterfinal against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, he will be the youngest American man to reach the round since Andy Roddick in '04. Is Shelton the most exciting American male athlete right now? How many more rounds would he need to win to claim that title?
Man Utd Amazon doc fizzles: Would you watch a behind-the-scenes documentary about the dysfunction at Man U? The fast 'Yes!' is probably why they ducked out of that potentially lucrative opportunity, per my colleagues David Ornstein and Adam Crafton.
Breaking news: 'Drive To Survive' star personality Christian Horner is OUT as F1 Red Bull team principal.
Other current obsessions: Stephen Curry returning to the American Century celeb golf event to defend his 2023 championship … the British Grand Prix's LEGO trophies … Joe Burrow's unexpected star turn on the new season of Netflix's 'Quarterback' … Sophia Wilson x Stumptown Coffee collab … 'The Athletic FC's' fascinating podcast special about Saudis and soccer …
Which 21st century sports movies did YOU love most?
Last week, the lead item of MoneyCall featured my list of 10 best (favorite?) sports movies of the 21st century. But I also asked for yours. Got some great responses, and a few notable omissions from my list that earned a place on yours included:
Shout-out to Jaya T., who topped my ''Whiplash' is a sports movie' with ''High School Musical' is a sports movie trilogy.' Huge thanks to everyone who wrote in!
What I'm Watching: Taylor-Serrano III
If Netflix's success with Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul last fall is any indication, there is a big appetite for fighting events among its more than 300 million subscribers.
So what happens when, instead of a clown show, it airs the single best rivalry in boxing? We will see Friday night around 11 p.m. ET, when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano complete their trilogy after previously putting on two of the best boxing matches of the decade.
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(Related: If/when the UFC stages a fight on the White House grounds in 2026, expect an absurd level of attention.)
Data Point: 121,077
That was the 21-71 Rockies' home attendance vs. the White Sox over July Fourth weekend, via Sportico's eagle-eyed Jacob Feldman.
That is a TON of paying customers, showing up for an otherwise dreadful team (and matchup!). Why? I asked longtime MoneyCall pal Luke Beatty, a Colorado lifer, entrepreneur, coach and die-hard Denver sports fan:
1) Coors Field is the most popular bar in the state and 2) a huge percentage of the attendees are from out of town, just looking for a nice way to spend an evening on the only MLB in the region.
Branding of the Week: 'Brawl of the Wild'
Great college football rivalries are taken to another level when they are named in a way that plays up their unique appeal. The annual game between Montana and Montana State gets Chris Vannini's top spot in his CFB rivalry name rankings, but the whole list is worth reading, because every one of these names is so distinctive.
Investor of the Week: John Legend
Legend was part of a new consortium investing in Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life fantasy-sports company, alongside other folks including LeBron James and his LRMR partner Maverick Carter, Jason Stein, Roger Ehrenberg and Larry Fitzgerald. Berry has always been one of the most entrepreneurial talents in sports media, and I am so intrigued to see how he grows his company from here. Also, do you think Legend will let me save a spot in his fantasy football league this fall?
Quote of the Week
'I think we need the people. We need the fans. The fans have one year to realize how important are the fans in soccer.' — USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, after El Tri's fans dominated the stadium in Houston in the Gold Cup final.
Beat Dan in Connections: Sports Edition
0:47 (but I needed two extra guesses!)
Try the game here!
Great business-adjacent reads for your downtime or commute:
The fascinating backstory — not to mention politically charged present and inscrutable future — of the NFL's relationship with Canada, as manifested through the Buffalo Bills' efforts to bridge the divide.
Two more:
(1) Illuminating dive into how Real Madrid conquered the United States market.
(2) If your teens are like mine, they don't have a job this summer. I sent them this link to Cooper Flagg's origin story as a pea-picker in Maine. Get off the couch, kids!
Back next Wednesday! As for the rest of today, what better way to spend a hot day in July than forwarding MoneyCall to a friend or colleague? And, as always, give a (free!) try to all The Athletic's other newsletters.