Is Iowa Football Doing More With Less? The Hawkeyes' NIL Budget Tells the Story

Does it come as any sort of surprise that the Iowa Hawkeyes are winning in the traditional way? Kirk Ferentz and his staff have grown to use the transfer portal more and more, but Iowa's success is still rooted in development.

That means that the Hawkeyes rarely break the bank on talent in the transfer portal or in NIL. Iowa prefers to build a well-rounded team, and the latest news on the NIL budgets across the 68 Power Four teams from The Athletic confirms it.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are better than anyone in America at doing more with less.

What is Iowa Football's NIL budget?

Iowa isn't spending $40 to 50 million dollars to build its roster. Instead, Iowa finds itself near the lower end of what Power Four teams are spending on their football NIL budgets.

The Hawkeyes rank No. 55 out of 68 Power Four teams in the football NIL budget, spending $17 to $21 million on their roster, according to The Athletic's research into football departments.

Where does Iowa Football's NIL rank in the Big Ten?

Unsurprisingly, the Big Ten has some big spenders at the top of the conference in Ohio State and Oregon, each nearing the $50 million mark in terms of roster cost.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are No. 17 out of 18 teams in football NIL spending, ahead of only the Purdue Boilermakers and just behind the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Most Expensive Big Ten Football Rosters

1) Ohio State Buckeyes
2) Oregon Ducks
3) USC Trojans
4) Indiana Hoosiers
5) Michigan Wolverines
6) Nebraska Cornhuskers
7) Penn State Nittany Lions
8) Wisconsin Badgers
9) UCLA Bruins
10) Maryland Terrapins
11) Michigan State Spartans
12) Northwestern Wildcats
13) Washington Huskies
14) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
15) Illinois Fighting Illini
16) Minnesota Golden Gophers
17) Iowa Hawkeyes
18 Purdue Boilermakers

The Big Ten Conference as a whole averages $27 to $31 million spent on their football rosters, with Iowa's budget coming in well below that number.

Iowa is doing the most with less

Only the Houston Cougars ($15 to $19 million) spend less than the Iowa Hawkeyes and are currently ranked in the top 25. That alone shows how Iowa is excelling in the face of the college football arms race that many teams are falling victim to.

The sustained success also tells the story of Iowa's success. NIL was introduced to college sports before the 2021 college football season. Since then, the Hawkeyes have gone 45-22, not including the 2-0 start to the 2026 season.

That record puts Iowa in the top 15 teams in the entire country with the most wins over that same time period. That's right. Since NIL was introduced, the Iowa Hawkeyes have proven to be a top-15 team nationally.

Iowa is among the likes of some of the big spenders, such as Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Clemson, and Tennessee, while doing it at a fraction of the cost.

So, while Iowa may not be backing up the Brinks truck, Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes are proving that it does pay to still recruit and develop.

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