PSU Football
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News—Sept. 16, 2026
The Athletic Report on PSU Roster Spending
The Athletic published a report on Sept. 16 looking at the estimated spending by 68 major university football programs to build their rosters. Penn State fell into the mid-range of the list sitting in a tie at #21 with Clemson (just ahead of Wisconsin and just behind Oklahoma). The Nittany Lions are 7th among the 18 Big Ten schools on the list. PSU’s estimated roster costs fell in the $29 to $32 million range for the 2026 season. Naturally, these numbers rely on the honesty of the sources providing them and they do not take into account any money received by players that is not directly controlled by the schools (e.g.: outside commercial endorsements).
Not surprisingly, Ohio State tops the list in the $49-54 million spending range. In addition to OSU, the Big Ten teams ranked ahead of Penn State in roster spending are (in order): Oregon, USC, Indiana, Michigan, and Nebraska. Virginia Tech trails Penn State in the rankings but is very close in reported spending. Pitt is well behind both Tech and Penn State on this list. For the record, Boston College of the ACC (with former PSU head coach Bill O’Brien) is at the very bottom in the $8-13 million spending range.
