Steve Sarkisian Shuts Down Texas Longhorns $40 Million Rumor

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is setting the record straight regarding a previous report about the team's roster spending amount.

During an appearance Tuesday on SiriusXM radio at SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, FL., Sarkisian voiced some frustration while calling out an "irresponsible" report from the Houston Chronicle that stated Texas spends around $40 million on its roster.

"What's frustrating on that was it was a little bit of irresponsible reporting," Sarkisian said. "It was one anonymous source saying that that's what our roster was. I wish I had 40 million on our roster. We'd probably be a little bit better team than we are."

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Sarkisian made it clear that Chris Del Conte and the Texas athletic department have blessed him and the staff with a plethora of resources, but it's no secret that every coach in the country woud love an extra $15 million for their roster budget.

The world of NIL and paying players has been something Sarkisian and general manager Brandon Harris have had to embrace while still using some impressively deep pockets. However, there's no doubt that the coaching staff continues to prioritize high school recruitment and development as the program's lifeblood while using the portal to clean up any loose ends.

There could be powerhouse teams like Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dotre that spend around that $35-40 million number, but at least for now, Sarkisian is emphasizing that Texas isn't in that hypothetical group.

“It was a little bit of irresponsible reporting… I wish I had 40 million on our roster, we’d probably be a little bit better."
@CoachSark talked about the report regarding the cost of his roster at #SECSpringMeetings!
@PeterBurnsESPN | @ChrisDoering | @JacobHester18 pic.twitter.com/0DZelKr9SK
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) May 27, 2025

Sarkisian voiced some further frustration about the rumor flooding across the sports media sphere even when he had yet to comment on its legitimacy.

"This this whole like the evolution of Twitter and social media and podcasts, one guy writes an article from an anonymous source that says that's what our roster is, everybody runs with it and I'm talking real publications ran with it," Sarkisian said. "And it was like, that's what's going on at Texas, nobody asked me one question. If that's what you think, that's fine. That's the narrative, you want to paint for our team, that's fine."

The Longhorns will begin the 2025 season against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on Aug. 30.