Will money talk? College football showdowns begin new chapter of NIL era

[CHRIS FRANCIS, SPORTS REPORTER]

The first season of college football’s “pay-for-play” era has arrived. The week one schedule, with three top ten matchups, proves why the biggest teams and the biggest stars are breaking the bank. How much they’re being paid, however, may surprise you.

With each school now allowed to pay their players directly from their own pool of $20.5 million, the amount of money going to college football players in the power four conferences is expected to double in 2025, according to NIL marketplace and tech company Opendorse.

Last year, with endorsements from collectives and other commercial payments, football players in the major conferences made a total of $1 billion.
This season, those payments are expected to reach $1.9 billion, with the revenue sharing from schools accounting for $1.4 billion.

The total shoots up to $2.4 billion in 2026 and $2.6 billion in 2027.

Whether all those billions are worth it is up for debate, but consider the week one schedule of prime matchups with games that could change the trajectory of the entire season.

Top ranked Texas and second-ranked Ohio State will kick things off. It’s a rematch of their College Football Playoff semifinal in January that was won by the eventual champion Buckeyes. They are also the top two revenue producing schools in the country. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day believes his guys are ready.

[Ohio State head coach Ryan Day]

“I think it’s great for college football playing a game like this opening weekend. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Sark [Steve Sarkisian], for his coaching staff, for the players. We’re excited to play these guys. It’s rare that you would, kind of play someone like this towards the end of the season and start the regular season with them. But here we are.”

A pair of tigers will decide which “Death Valley” is more deserving as fourth-ranked Clemson plays host to ninth-ranked LSU. Two veteran quarterbacks, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, will try to give their respective programs a leg up in the playoff race, under the lights Saturday night.

[Garrett Nussmeier]

“Very storied program. Obviously, they have a really cool environment there. So, I think for one, just embracing that opportunity to go into an arena like that, to a place like that, to try and silence the crowd, I guess you could say. That’s kind of your mindset when you’re playing a big road game.”

All alone in the Sunday spotlight sixth-ranked Notre Dame visits tenth-ranked Miami or as some old-timers like yours truly still call it, Catholics vs. Convicts. Both teams are replacing star quarterbacks but had the money to restock. The Hurricanes paid former Georgia star Carson Beck more than $6 million to keep their playoff hopes intact. He’s trying to stay grounded before kickoff.

[CARSON BECK]

“They’re stout all across the board. Very talented team with a great coach. And again, like I said, it’s just another football game, right? Like that’s that’s the motto. That’s the mindset and another opportunity for us to compete, right? It’s the first game. Everyone’s super excited, super pumped, and we’re ready for the challenge.”

[CHRIS FRANCIS]

Also this weekend, No. 8 Alabama heads to Tallahassee to take on unranked Florida State, a stumble by the Crimson Tide could put a big dent in their playoff hopes should they need a tiebreaker with the committee in December.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Chris Francis.