The Athletic published estimated 2026 football roster budgets for 68 teams Wednesday after speaking with 70 sources across the sport. The field covers the 67 Power Four programs plus Notre Dame, and the estimates include athletic department revenue, booster contributions, and other program-controlled money. They do not include independent endorsement income outside school control.

The numbers are informed estimates rather than audited payrolls, which is important context. Ohio State leads with a range of $49 to $50 million, while Boston College sits at $8 to $13 million. Colorado’s logo is plotted just below the $20 million line on the public graphic based on the midpoint of its range, but the public summary does not list an exact Colorado figure (giving the Buffaloes a precise number would be guesswork).

The Big 12 is working with fewer than the SEC and Big Ten

The conference averages make Colorado’s position easier to see. The SEC sits between $33 million and $38 million, the Big Ten between $27 million and $31 million, the ACC between $21 million and $25 million, and the Big 12 between $18 million and $22 million. Twelve of the Big 12’s16 teams have ranges that begin below $20 million.

Texas Tech is the clear conference outlier at an estimated $38 million to $42 million, the same range as Alabama and above Georgia’s $31 million to $34 million estimate. That comparison becomes more relevant pretty fast because the Red Raiders visit Folsom Field on Oct. 3, not Nov. 14, as an earlier version of this story stated.

Deion Sanders has complained about the spending gap before

Colorado coach Deion Sanders made the same point at 2025 Big 12 Media Days while arguing for more limits on player compensation.

“All you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent, and you understand darn near why they’re in the playoffs,” Sanders said. “It's kind of hard to compete with somebody who’s giving $25, $30 million to a darn freshman class.”

Colorado also said last November that it expected to meet the $20.5 million revenue sharing cap for fiscal year 2026 while projecting a $27 million athletic department deficit. Those figures should not be compared dollar for dollar with the football roster estimates. The $20.5 million number covered school revenue sharing across the athletic department, while the roster survey includes program-controlled sources of football compensation.

A Big 12 evaluator criticized Colorado’s old approach

The new spending chart also gives more context to a criticism Colorado faced after its 3-9 season in 2025. An anonymous Big 12 general manager told The Athletic that the Buffaloes had leaned too heavily on recognizable Power Four names without getting enough production.

“If you take a look at a lot of the guys that they brought in, there wasn’t a ton of production,” the general manager said. “They took a bunch of Power 4 big names, big star guys, and they put them in with the expectation that they were going to have big jumps.”

The spending report does not prove Colorado changed its roster plan because of money, though, and it would be a stretch to make such a claim. Although it does show why chasing the same expensive portal names as the sport’s richest programs can be a difficult way to build in Boulder.

Colorado’s 2026 roster shows a different mix

The current rister as more examples of players who produced outside the Power Four before reaching Boulder. Colorado defensive coordinator Chris Marve has linebackers Gideon Lampron, who came through Dayton and Bowling Green, and Tyler Martinez, who came through New Mexico Military Institute and New Mexico State.

On offense, Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion reunited with running back Damian Henderson II after Henderson rushed for 565 yards at Sacramento State last season. DeKalon Taylor arrived from Incarnate Word, giving the Buffaloes another veteran whose college resume was built outside the Power Four.

Colorado has not abandoned Power Four transfers. Boo Carter came from Tennessee, Lion Lefau from Texas, and several others followed similar routes. The difference is that the roster is not relying on one market or one kind of resume.

The Buffaloes are 2-0, but the schedule will provide a better answer than any spending report. Oregon carried an estimated $48 million to $54 million roster into last weekend and still lost to Oklahoma State. We can agree that the estimates help explain the expectations around each program, but Colorado still has to prove that its own mix can hold up as the schedule gets intense.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook for the latest news.