New Report Shows Kansas Football Near Bottom of Big 12 in Roster Spending

There’s a phrase that aptly fits the current state of college football and college athletics in this country right now: money talks. But that could mean bad news for Kansas football, as a recent report from The Athletic suggests that the Jayhawks are speaking a lot softer than their peers.

Staff writers at The Athletic published the story Wednesday morning detailing how much money each Power 4 college football program is estimated to have spent on their 2026 roster. To obtain those estimates, Athletic writers reportedly spoke to “more than 70” unnamed sources across college football – including coaches, general managers, agents, and others.

“We worked to get as many independent, trustworthy estimates as possible from people inside and outside a program: those who broker the deals, direct the teams from the sidelines on Saturdays and watch the games from luxury boxes,” according to the report. “We contacted at least one employee from each school to give them an opportunity to offer information about their roster budgets.”

How much did your team spend on its roster?

Our staff @TheAthletic spent months and talked to countless people inside and outside of every Power 4 program in search of the answer.

Here's what we found. Free story: https://t.co/21A5tayYyj
— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 16, 2026

To no surprise, the programs spending the most money ($30 million or more) are some of the top performing teams in the country. Teams spending in that range included Georgia, Indiana, Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and other college football heavyweights.

Among the 67 teams currently in a Power 4 conference (Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC), Kansas came in at No. 62, spending an estimated $15-17 million on this year’s roster. The only teams estimated to be spending less than KU are Arizona, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Duke, and Boston College.

Among Big 12 teams, KU comes in at No. 12 out of 16 ahead of the aforementioned three Big 12 schools

“The numbers here refer to the amount of money a school had at its disposal to assemble its 2026 roster — setting aside any player income not managed or controlled by the football program, such as endorsements with national brands,” according to the report. “The money comes from a combination of athletic department revenue, outside booster donations and other sources that vary from school to school.”

What it means

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that KU is listed where they are.

KU has a lot of money currently invested in Kansas football facilities and surrounding buildings through the Gateway District Project. They also have a blue blood basketball program that requires significant funding as well, particularly when the No. 1 recruit in the country is on the roster.

However, the Jayhawks aren’t that far off from some of their Big 12 peers. Oklahoma State, UCF, and Houston are all listed slightly higher than KU but only within an estimated $3 million at best.

The numbers also show what a disadvantage that KU and other Big 12 schools are at when it comes to media rights deals. 12 of the 16 Big 12 teams are listed below the $20 million mark, emphasizing how much of a disadvantage they are operating at compared to their peers in the Big Ten and SEC.

KU’s spending does not reflect a poor donation pool as much as it reflects the program’s difficult position trying to balance limited extra income from the conference and the deficit the athletics department is currently facing from the stadium and Gateway District.

However, it does mean that head coach Lance Leipold and his staff have to be extra diligent when it comes to recruiting the right players and coaching and developing them properly once they get to campus. Until KU Athletics’ finances settle back to normal and/or there are more national guardrails on roster spending, that’s the only way KU will be able to stay competitive in this current era of college football.

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READ MORE: Why Lance Leipold May Have Reached His Peak at Kansas Football

What it means