Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian denies $40 million rumor

The University of Texas at Austin’s athletic department has long been heralded for its access to seemingly unmatched financial resources. 

The Texas Longhorns football program maintains arguably some of the best — if not the top — amenities in the nation.

Since the advent of name, image and likeness (NIL), there has been a noticeable uptick in the amount of financial resources programs across the U.S. have allocated to football, basketball and other sports. 

Ohio State reportedly built one of the country’s most expensive rosters en route to January’s national championship. 

Some have asserted Texas’ spending heading into the 2025 campaign was on par with or even surpassed the $20 million the Buckeyes spent.

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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian denied the $40 million price tag linked to the Longhorns. 

Sarkisian referenced a recent Houston Chronicle column that highlighted Texas’ roster payroll. The column accounted for revenue sharing and Texas NIL collective payouts. According to the outlet, revenue-sharing funds totaled $20.5 million. The total spent on the football team was reported to be between $35-$40 million.

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Sarkisian suggested $25 million was a more accurate figure for Texas’ investment. He also hinted the $40 million figure was a result of “irresponsible reporting.”

“There was one anonymous source that said that’s what our roster was. I wish I had $40 million on our roster. We’d probably be a little bit better team than we are,” the coach said during a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s College Sports Radio.

Sarkisian then addressed the current landscape of college football. 

“The idea to think that a lot of other schools aren’t spending money to get players? It’s the state of college football right now. It is what it is,” he said. 

Texas has advanced to the College Football Playoff the past two seasons. The Longhorns lost 37-31 to Washington in the 2023–24 playoff semifinal. 

After defeating Clemson in the first round last season, Texas survived a double-overtime thriller against Arizona State in the quarterfinals. But the Longhorns could not get past Ohio State in the semifinals.

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“It’s been a great run. I wish I had about another $15 million or so, though. We might have a better roster,” Sarkisian said.

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