Steve Sarkisian issues blunt response to key NIL issue amid $40 million spending spree at Texas

Despite being one of college football program’s top programs in the Name, Image and Likeness aspect, Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns aren’t always willing to pay top dollar for talent.

The Longhorns, coming off back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, sit first nationally in NIL collective spending this year, per NCAA estimates.

And that doesn’t include the $20.5 million going directly to players in light of the House settlement’s revenue-share model. In total, the SEC power is reportedly fielding a roster worth up to $40 million.

All things considered, the Longhorns can likely afford to match most players’ NIL demands. However, Sarkisian and Co. are wary of signing some deals in the name of culture.

“When you bring somebody in from the outside that, all of the sudden, is making more than everybody else, I think that’s when you can run into some problems,” Sarkisian said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.”

The Longhorns signed the nation’s No. 1 class in the 2025 cycle and are in the hunt for another top class in 2026.

“It happened this offseason,” Sarkisian continued. “We ended up not going on a player, because I didn’t feel comfortable about what it would have cost us to get him in comparison to other players on that side of the ball. And we love our culture, and we’ve exhausted ourselves in building the culture here at the University of Texas.”

It comes down to production for Texas when considering signing a player, especially those that ask for costly NIL deals, according to Sarkisian.

“We’re navigating the NIL space, I think, as good or better than anybody,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of respect in our locker room. We believe in production (and) this is a production-based industry, right? How you perform ultimately is how you get compensated. And so I think our players understand that.”

With the roster set for the 2025 season, the Longhorns possess one of the most talented teams in the country, ranking first in blue-chip ratio. The program’s competitive NIL spending will continue to be talked about, but it’s clear that Sarkisian’s blueprint is working.

Texas will open the season on the road at defending national champion Ohio State on Aug. 30 at noon ET (Fox).