How Much Are College Football Players Really Making? Position-By-Position Breakdown

It’s been a good week for the College Football Playoff selection committee.

As much as we all love to argue about the rankings — and the first set released on Tuesday brought plenty of consternation — this week felt particularly contentious.

For those not as familiar with the process, I went down to Dallas earlier this month to participate in a mock selection exercise that mimics the CFP process itself. Read it if you haven’t already. It’s a good parallel for how this will continue to play out over the next month.

But enough about that. Let’s get into some numbers!

Main Event: How much CFB players earn

If there’s one complaint I hear from every corner of college sports almost every week, it’s the lack of information and transparency about what people pay athletes.

Here! We actually have data to discuss.

The College Athletic Commission—the entity created outside of the House resolution that is responsible for effectively vetting athlete compensation— released a new look database on Friday that disclosed the third party’s NIL income sharing and payment information.

“Everybody to some degree has probably been blind to what the market really is,” CSC Chief Operating Officer and Deputy General Counsel John Bramlette told me. “People have tried to build reports about this — and very, very bravely. But we felt like there was a way that was legal, equitable and under the various legal considerations where we could present information that would be useful to everybody — the schools and the student athletes — we felt it was a good opportunity to do that.”

The data provided is definitely a little dense, so I did my best to simplify it and make it a little more digestible, while also diving into some of the numbers that stand out.

Here is a sample of average pay figures for football players that includes how much they get directly from their schools (revenue share) and how much comes from outside marketing deals (NIL):

Central defender

• Power Four — Revenue Share: $230,000 | NIL: $65,550
• Non-Power Four — Revenue share: $31,000 | NIL: $1,570

Running back

• Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $108,500 | NIL: $26,050
• Non-Power Four — Revenue share: $16,000 | NIL: $1,500

Wide receiver

• Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $112,500 | NIL: $27,785
• Non-Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $15,000 | NIL: $1,560

Tight end

• Power of Four — Revenue Sharing: $93,000 | NIL: $20,000
• Non-Power Four — Revenue share: $14,000 | NIL: $1,560

Offensive line

• Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $133,000 | NIL: $21,600
• Non-Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $17,500 | NIL: $1,560

Linebacker

• Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $112,500 | NIL: $21,500
• Non-Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $17,500 | NIL: $1,550

Protective Protection

• Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $115,000 | NIL: $25,000
• Non-Power Four — Revenue Sharing: $15,000 | NIL: $1,560

The defensive line

• Power of Four — Revenue Sharing: $150,000 | NIL: $26,500
• Non-Power Four — Revenue Share: $18,000 | NIL: $1,570

Again, these are average numbers and may seem a touch low compared to some of the reports out there about athlete compensation.

Take quarterbacks, for example. On3 reported in August that at least 13 whistleblowers were being paid $3 million or more this fall. Since the tracks. The CSC data showed that the fourth in the 90th percentile of earners are making $2.6 million combined between NIL and income share dollars. That group includes Miami’s Darian Mensah, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker and Indiana’s Josh Hoover.

The report also included other sports, such as men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, etc.

In men’s basketball, the data showed that the gap between top Power Four ($662,000) and non-Power Four ($250,000) spending in the revenue split was dramatic, with the 90th percentile of compensation within the Power Four ranging from $559,500 in the Big Ten to $200,000 in the Big Ten.

The hope with the data released last week is that it will help equip schools with more in-depth information that can inform decision-making heading into another December transfer portal window.

“Maybe this data can play a role in trying to help student-athletes get an understanding or a picture of what the market might be, which can inform transfer decisions and can inform other decisions, whether to go pro or transfer or whatever,” Bramlette speculated. “Hopefully there’s value for the student athletes, and then hopefully there’s value for the schools.

“School practitioners feel like they’re in the dark when they’re negotiating or discussing with kids, with athletes what compensation might be offered in other countries. If nothing else, we hope it closes an information gap and maybe yields ‘better’ outcomes for both parties.”

Best quote I saw this week

“That’s entertainment, right? So we thought we’d bring some entertainment value.” – Indiana coach Curt Cignetti

I honestly can’t remember an ending to a game like the one Indiana and Minnesota displayed last Saturday, trading a pair of 60-yard field goals to send the game into overtime.

I hope everyone in greater Bloomington met with their cardiologists during the good week this week. Hoosiers football hasn’t exactly been for the faint of heart this fall.

Best deal I saw this week

If you’ve ever spent more than about five minutes in downtown Indianapolis, you’ve undoubtedly seen the huge complex occupied by Eli Lilly near the heart of the city.

Well, now the company is getting into college sports.

The pharmaceutical giant announced logo on-court deals with Indiana and Purdue before the start of the college basketball season.

Without John Mellencamp, that’s about as far as Indiana can get a sponsorship deal.