The Ohio State Buckeyes have been branded as the big NIL spender after their run to the 2024/2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. Sure, they spent $20 million to win it, but OSU wasn't the only team cutting eight figures worth of contracts.
As USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer pointed out, Ohio State is far from the only spender in town. The Buckeyes aren't even the lone spender in their conference. The Oregon Ducks, TTUN, and the Indiana Hoosiers are all beneficiaries of massive donor checks to roster-build.
Toppmeyer used fired LSU Tigers coach Brian Kelly and fired Penn State Nittany Lions coach James Franklin, plus the Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian, as examples of how NIL spending doesn't guarantee on-field success.