Throughout the month of December, college football players everywhere are making life-altering decisions about their future. Many are even releasing well-crafted announcements over social media regarding whether they intend to remain with their current program to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

Some upper classmen are even declaring their intention to enter next April’s NFL Draft or announcing postseason all-star game invites. And let’s not forget about National Signing Day on the first Wednesday of the month.

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At the same time, college football coaches are having often difficult and frank conversations with their current roster, while at the same time formulating a plan of attack ahead of Jan. 2nd, when the NCAA Transfer Portal opens for two full weeks.

It’s happening all over, … well, except in Athens apparently, where No. 3 Georgia (12-1) is busy preparing for a return to New Orleans for the College Football Playoff‘s Sugar Bowl national quarterfinal against No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1). Kickoff is set for 8 pm ET, New Year’s Day inside the Caesars Superdome. When asked about how he’s splitting his time between bowl prep and roster management at a recent press conference, UGA head coach Kirby Smart flipped the script regarding what he’s telling Bulldogs players that might approach him with concerns about their future.

“We’re focused on this team. I think it’d be remiss to say we’re focused on roster management. We’re not focused on it. We’re focused on prep and getting better,” Smart said Monday. “And for a while it’s been intrinsically looking at ourselves and asking each player: ‘Did you come here to develop? Did you truly come here to develop?’ Because if you did, all your buddies are out there right now, everybody’s announcing what they’re doing, announcing that I’m going into the portal, announcing that I’m re-signing. How about you announce that you’re getting better and you’re going to practice and actually do what (for the prior) 20 and 30 years college football players did before you, which was practice in December – when they’re on good teams – and get better.

“Because if you’re going to play somewhere else, you know what you need to do? You need to get better. If you’re going to play here, you know what you need to do? You need to get better,” Smart continued. “If you want to go to the National Football League and play, this is your last chance to get better. Because they’re not going to give you much opportunity, they’re going to cut you or keep you based on how you do, and they don’t get to practice in pads so many days. So development occurs in December for us, and that’s what we’ve been focused on.”

South Carolina fans received an early Christmas present this week when superstar quarterback LaNorris Sellers and star pass rusher Dylan Stewart both inked new rev-share/NIL deals with the Gamecocks to return for the 2026 season. Sellers announced his plan to return on Monday on X/Twitter, while Stewart confirmed his return Tuesday on Instagram.

And while South Carolina’s Shane Beamer undoubtedly welcomed both back with open arms, the fifth-year Gamecocks head football coach shot down a Tuesday night report from Columbia’s SportsTalk Media Network suggesting the price tag for the two Gamecocks stars was “in the neighborhood of $5 million from the school’s rev share total.”

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“Sounds to me like you need some much better sources,” Beamer reponded on X/Twitter on Christmas Eve. “This isn’t even remotely close to being true. #AnythingForClicks #Merry Christmas”

DeBoer spent one year as Tom Allen’s offensive coordinator, helping Indiana reach its first Florida-based January bowl game (at a time when that still carried greater meaning) in 2019.

And Cignetti spent four years as part of Nick Saban’s first Alabama staff, coaching wide receivers and coordinating recruiting for the program Cignetti eventually helped win a national championship.

But they’ve both distinguished themselves in their profession through their willingness to climb the coaching pyramid: From outside Division I, through lower levels as either a head coach or coordinator, all the way up to the sport’s biggest stage.

“Knowing coach Cignetti and — you referred to it — his path, nothing but respect for how he’s done it, how he’s gotten to this spot,” DeBoer said.

The Colorado Buffaloes are facing a mass exodus through the NCAA Transfer Portal. One reason that players enter the portal in the current college football landscape is due to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals.

The current Colorado Buffaloes players with the highest NIL Valuation according to On3 are notable when evaluating who will be on the team next season.

Colorado Players With Highest NIL Valuation

1. Jordan Seaton: $1.7M
2. Julian Lewis: $1.1M
3. Omarion Miller: $570K
4. Jehiem Oatis: $390K
5. Tawfiq Byard: $358K
6. Dre’lon Miller: $321K
7. Noah King: $315K
8. Christian Hudson: $312K
9. Carde Smith: $311K
10. Zarian McGill: $119K

NIL valuations are not how much players are earning, but On3’s way of measuring a player’s projected annual value. It combines roster value and NIL value.

One of the most significant aspects of the top 10 Colorado players is that only two are set to return to the team in 2026: offensive tackle Jordan Seaton and quarterback Julian Lewis. Offensive lineman Zarian McGill is also in the top 10, but is headed to the NFL in 2026.

The remainder of the top 10 in NIL valuation have announced their intention to enter the portal. With the number of players set to leave the team, the Buffaloes will lose several highly valued players.

MORE: Deion Sanders Reportedly Hires Familiar Name As Colorado Running Backs Coach

MORE: Why Shedeur Sanders Will Bounce Back From Late-Season Struggles

MORE: Insider Reveals Biggest Reason Behind Colorado’s Transfer Portal Mass Exodus 

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Jordan Seaton Highest NIL Valuation On Colorado

Seaton has the highest NIL valuation and is one of the most critical players on the Buffaloes. Seaton has been with the program for two years, both of which have been dominant. He missed three games due to a foot injury, but allowed just two sacks and five quarterback hurries over 328 pass protection snaps.

Seaton will be entering his third year with the program, which will likely be his last, as he could declare for the NFL draft after the 2026 season.

After a 3-9 season, it was possible Seaton would enter the portal, but he is expected to return to the Buffaloes in 2026. Seaton will play a prominent role in Colorado’s offense next season, with Lewis set to be the team’s week 1 starter. As Colorado looks to take a step forward, having an elite player on the offensive line who is also a veteran on the team will be crucial.

Julian Lewis Ready To Lead The Buffaloes

Lewis is preparing for a big year with the Buffaloes after developing throughout the 2025 season. He was a big pickup in the 2025 recruiting class, initially committed to the USC Trojans before flipping to Colorado.

Lewis started in three games this season, his first being against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Nov. 8. Colorado coach Deion Sanders decided to redshirt Lewis, which meant the quarterback did not play in the final game of the season.

“I’ve made a decision that JuJu is going to redshirt,” Sanders told the media when announcing the decision. “That’s my decision. I want what’s best for the kid, what’s best for his family, what’s best for this wonderful university that has given me the tremendous opportunity and given him the opportunity. I think for the program, it’s best for everyone, but mainly it’s great for him.”

Lewis passed for 589 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Buffaloes hired offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who helped turn programs around by fixing the offense. With Marion and Seaton’s return, Lewis is set up for success in 2026 and beyond.

Though four games are a small sample size, the young quarterback has a high ceiling. He made some big throws, and with Marion, Lewis has the chance to take off in 2026.

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The winter holidays mark a time of joy and celebration for some, but are more defined by anxiety for others. Amid college football’s annual holiday-season tradition of bowls games, the sport’s shift from the long-held postseason customs to an expanded playoff heightens anxiety.

Regardless if one falls in the category of joyful reveler or cantankerous Scrooge, consumerism plays a critical role in the season. College football is no different, with the recent advent of NIL becoming a foundational element of the game evident in the remaining Playoff field.

As the bracket whittled down from 12 to eight with last weekend’s opening-round games, the College Football Playoff demonstrated an exercise comparable to Eddie Murphy’s monologue about Christmastime spending in the seasonal classic Trading Places: “I ain’t gonna have money to buy my son the G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip, and my wife ain’t going to make love to me ‘cause I got no money.”

Well, reaching the Playoff and advancing are similar. The eight quarterfinalists stand as testament to spending power — though it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much, which contributes to rising anxieties.

A CBS Sports article ahead of the 1st Round broke down the tournament into NIL-spending tiers, with five of the 12 labeled “elite spenders.” Four of those play on in the round of eight: reigning national champion Ohio State, Oregon, Texas Tech and Miami, which outlasted fellow elite spender Texas A&M in what was perhaps uncoincidentally the most competitive of the four opening-round games.

James Madison and Tulane were both routed against deep-pocketed opponents in Oregon and Ole Miss, which isn’t necessarily a data point worth applying to any NIL discussion. Athletic departments with more funds through television revenue, merchandising, etc. have long had advantages against their counterparts from conferences with fewer resources, and that disparity is a defining trait of the underdog stories fans love.

In the case of this year’s Playoff other historical underdogs, however, NIL spending is an undeniably crucial factor in Indiana and Texas Tech pursuing the national championship.

The top-seeded, undefeated Hoosiers head into their first Rose Bowl Game in almost six decades behind the Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback has an NIL valuation of $2.6 million per On3.com estimates, up from the $1.6 million estimate shortly after Mendoza’s transfer from Cal.

And while less dramatic in a historical context than Indiana’s rise to prominence, Texas Tech competing for the national championship is a significant jump for a program previously destined to also-ran status. The Red Raiders are underdogs in the sense that they were rarely competitive on a national level previously, but Texas Tech reportedly spends on NIL with a fervor comparable to top-tier soccer clubs.

The soccer parallel works in part because, like a once-middling Manchester City became an English Premier League powerhouse coinciding with an infusion of cash, Texas Tech owes much of its rise to oil money.

On3 reported Texas Tech spent a whopping $28 million on its 2025 roster, making it one of the highest-priced lineups in college football. The public face of Tech’s NIL collective, former Red Raiders lineman Cody Campbell, sold his energy company Double Eagle for a reported $4.1 billion earlier this year.

So does this year’s Playoff foreshadow all our football holiday seasons to come? Does a program need its own version of Landman to strike it rich in order to compete?

Looking at the other closely contested 1st-Round matchup — Alabama’s comeback win at Oklahoma — offers fascinating perspective. It pit against one another two historically outstanding programs that CBS Sports designated as “good, but not as elite as you think” spenders.

That’s an interesting description, as it aligns particularly with Alabama’s drop-off from the most dominant program in the sport in the years just before the Supreme Court allowed NIL payments in 2021, to the Crimson Tide’s current positioning as a consistent winner but hardly a world-beater.

Now, it’s overly simplistic to credit Alabama’s marginal slide to NIL spending and discredits just how remarkable Nick Saban was as the Tide’s head coach. But it is noteworthy that Saban has been an outspoken critic not of NIL, but its lack of structure.

“I’m all for the players making money,” [but] I don’t think we have a sustainable system right now,” Saban said last spring. I think a lot of people would agree with that. In terms of the future of college athletics period, not just football, how do we sustain 20 other non-revenue sports that create lots of other opportunities for people in the future?”

In its parallel with the holiday season, Saban’s comments about the long-term health of college athletics during this present-day era of unregulated spending might bring to mind nightmares of credit-card bills coming due after a gift-buying spree.

You have perhaps noticed much of the information on NIL spending is presented in estimates. The lack of concrete oversight or regulation makes evaluating the landscape difficult, and only adds to the anxiety surrounding NIL.