Cal’s football payroll sits in the middle of the ACC pack, according to a report from The Athletic that estimated how much each Power Four school can spend on players this season.
The outlet said its figures represent “the amount of money a school had at its disposal to assemble its 2026 roster.” Under that framework, Cal checks in at between $20 million and $24 million, which ties the Bears for 40th among the 68 Power Four schools.
In the ACC, that places Cal ninth out of 17 teams. The gap between the league’s fifth-highest and 11th-highest player-payment budgets is described as relatively small, so the middle of the conference is tightly packed.
The broader national picture tracks closely with the budget rankings. The top 14 teams in player-payment allotments all appear in this week’s AP top 25. Texas is No. 1 in the AP poll and third in player-payment budgets, while Ohio State - which was No. 1 before its last-second loss to Texas - is tied with Oregon for the top spot in player-payment allotments at an estimated $49 million to $54 million.
Miami, the ACC’s highest-ranked team in the AP poll at No. 5, also leads the conference in player-payment budget at between $44 million and $50 million. That figure ranks sixth nationally among Power Four schools.
Still, Miami is the only ACC team inside the national top 20 in player-payment budgets, which helps explain why the league has been so hard to sort out beyond the Hurricanes. The second-best team in the ACC is very much up for debate, and that uncertainty is part of why some think Cal has a shot at the conference title game.
The Bears don’t play Miami or Louisville this season. Cal is 1-1 overall, 1-0 in the ACC, and hosts Wagner on Saturday.
For the 2026-27 academic year, schools can spend up to $21.58 million on all athletes through revenue sharing, but that does not include NIL money from outside sources. Quarterbacks usually command the biggest slice of the pie, and Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is reportedly making $3 million in NIL deals, according to the San Francisco Standard.
The Athletic’s ranking of ACC schools by football player-payment budget lines up closely with the preseason media poll, with SMU and Florida State standing out as the main exceptions.
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