How NIL Spending Is Reshaping College Football's Competitive Landscape

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How NIL Spending Is Reshaping College Football's Competitive Landscape originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In 2021, Cincinnati made history by becoming the first Group of Five program to reach the College Football Playoff. For many, it was proof that the so-called gap between the Power Five and G5 wasn't insurmountable.
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But in 2025, that proof feels distant. Not because the quality of G5 football has declined, but because the financial structure of the sport has changed entirely.
As college athletics enters the first full cycle of NCAA-sanctioned revenue sharing and matured NIL collectives, the economic realities facing Group of Five programs have become unavoidable. And nowhere is that shift more visible than in the SEC.
While the Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 are also adapting to this new era, the SEC stands as the clearest representation of what the modern Power conference looks like. For the sake of this comparison, it serves as a fair and conservative barometer for the Power Four as a whole.
Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) shakes hands while entering the locker room.Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
NIL Spending and Revenue Structures in 2025
Starting in 2025, every school within the Power Four is permitted to distribute up to $20.5 million to athletes through the NCAA's new revenue-sharing model. According to projections from NIL-NCAA.com, SEC schools are expected to meet that cap across the board. On top of that, the average SEC collective will provide another $13.95 million in NIL compensation.
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That puts the total average for SEC athlete compensation at roughly $34.5 million per school.
In contrast, Group of Five programs are projected to operate on significantly smaller margins. Here's how the averages stack up:
Conference
Revenue Share (Avg.)
NIL Collective (Avg.)
Total Compensation
SEC (P4 Proxy)
$20.5M
$13.95M
$34.45M
American
$2.99M
$1.6M
$4.6M
Mountain West
$4.37M
$1.7M
$6.0M
Sun Belt
$2.02M
$1.0M
$3.0M
MAC
$1.90M
$800K
$2.7M
Conference USA
$1.63M
$600K
$2.2M
These figures reflect projected funding availability, not guaranteed athlete payouts, as collective disbursements vary based on structure, fundraising stability, and timing.
Even within the Power Four, there are schools operating more conservatively than others. But as a whole, the SEC provides a useful benchmark for how far the top tier of college football has moved from the rest of the landscape.
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How NIL Impacts G5 Player Retention in College Football
For years, the most difficult challenge for G5 programs was attracting high-end talent. Now, it's keeping it.
Player development has long been a hallmark of successful mid-major programs. But the same qualities that make G5 players appealing, such as early playing time, system fit, and on-field production, also make them targets in the transfer portal.
One G5 staffer described his situation plainly. 'We can't offer more. We can only offer first,' he said. 'And most of the time, that's not enough anymore.'
When a starting wide receiver in the American makes $15,000 and hears from a Power Four program offering $75,000, the leverage disappears quickly. And with NIL deals now embedded in roster planning, that gap becomes less about poaching and more about structure.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The SEC's NIL Spending as a Model for Power Four Programs
Programs like Texas and LSU are projected to spend over $40 million on athlete compensation in 2025. Some, like Texas Tech, are experimenting with consolidated booster-collective models that push total payrolls past $50 million.
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This is not just a reaction to NIL. It is the beginning of a structured financial era. Some Power Four programs are segmenting their NIL spend by position group. Others are introducing multi-year deals and retention bonuses that incentivize players to stay through graduation.
Meanwhile, many G5 schools are still assembling short-term packages through local sponsors, donor drives, and limited institutional support.
The systems are fundamentally different in scale, planning, and stability.
NIL Disparity and the Future of G5 Competitiveness
These numbers don't disqualify G5 programs from being competitive. But they do redefine what that competitiveness looks like.
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A 12-0 G5 season that earns a Playoff bid remains possible. Building it into a sustained era of success, however, now requires navigating an environment where roster stability is directly tied to financial infrastructure.
In a model where one tier of programs is investing in multi-year continuity and another is forced to rebuild annually, the pressure is no longer just on recruiting. It's on retention, investment alignment, and consistent access to capital.
South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers could be the 2026 number 1 draft pick.© Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
Closing: A Financial Divide That's Redefining College Football
College football has never been a level playing field. But as athlete compensation becomes a core function of program operations, the separation between tiers of the sport is becoming formalized.
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Programs at the top are managing rosters with continuity in mind. Programs at the bottom are often just trying to hold theirs together long enough to stay relevant.
Related: Will NIL Dreams Crush Team Chemistry in College Sports?
The sport may still be governed by one rulebook, but the terms of competition are no longer the same. The playoff is expanding. The revenue models are not.
The question now is not whether a G5 team can make a run. It's whether any program without long-term financial planning can remain in the conversation for more than a year at a time.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.