Texas coach Steve Sarkisian disputes $40 million football roster claims

Texas didn't spend $40 million to create its football roster, head coach Steve Sarkisian said, disputing a report to the contrary.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian dispels a report that the football program spent $40 million on its roster. | Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

College football teams aren’t afraid to dole out some serious money to attract the best players to their programs, but Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian thinks some of the talk around his own school got out of hand this offseason.

Earlier this spring, a Houston Chronicle report suggested that Texas was spending up to $40 million to compile its football roster this season.

That’s fake news, according to Sarkisian.

“What’s frustrating on that is it was a little bit of irresponsible reporting,” he told SiriusXM of the original claim.

“It was one anonymous source said that was what our roster was. I wish I had $40 million on our roster. We’d probably be a little better team than we are.”

“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

The latest bump in NIL spending across the sport comes as schools await the pending House vs. NCAA settlement, which will limit the amount of money they’re able to spend on developing their rosters.

The settlement will introduce a revenue-sharing model for the first time in history, as schools will be able to pay about $20 million directly to players in all sports, with football expected to occupy the bulk of that sum.

Texas comes into the 2025 season as one of the most talented overall rosters in college football, as former No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning is poised to take over as starting quarterback, surrounded by a rotation of elite playmakers on both sides of the ball.

But while the Longhorns may not be spending $40 million to put that team together, they are spending, and so is the competition inside the SEC and out of it.

“The idea to think that a lot of other schools aren’t spending money to get players, I mean, it’s the state of college football right now,” Sarkisian said.

“It is what it is. Hey, we’re fortunate, don’t get me wrong. We’ve got great support... I wish I had another $15 million or so. I might have a little better roster.”

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