A fresh batch of college football roster spending numbers offers another look at where ACC programs stand, and the picture is pretty clear: there’s a wide gap at the top, but the league’s middle class isn’t out of reach for everyone.
The Athletic’s report, which includes budget ranges rather than exact figures, places NC State right in the middle of the Power 4 overall. Within the ACC, though, that still lands the Wolfpack in the conference’s upper half. Even so, the report leaves room to wonder whether NC State is really spending more than Louisville, UNC, or UVA.
The new numbers also don’t line up perfectly with what 247Sports found last month. That survey pegged NC State at under $20 million, while The Athletic puts the range at $22-26 million. It’s a reminder of how much of this business still comes down to estimates from industry sources rather than hard public figures.
Boston College showed up at the opposite end of the spectrum. The Athletic’s findings suggest the Eagles could be working with a football budget as low as $8 million, the smallest in any of the power conferences.
That figure is striking enough on its own, and it raises obvious questions about how that compares to BC’s men’s basketball spending. If Boston College is fully funding its NIL pool, it’s tough to see how football gets less than half of that amount.
In the ACC, though, you don’t need to be at the very top to be in the mix. A budget in the low $20 millions can put a program into the conference’s middle class, which leaves room for plenty of schools to compete.
Maybe even for second place. Miami, meanwhile, appears to be operating on another level entirely, with a spending gap that looks too large for anyone else to realistically close, even if a new coach gives donations a boost somewhere else.
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A comparison using ESPNs SP+ ratings underscores the difference, with the average strength of NC States 2027 ACC opponents coming in well above what the Pack will face the year before. Clemson and Miami headline a home schedule that already carries plenty of weight, while road trips to places like SMU and Virginia Tech add another layer of difficulty. For a program trying to keep pace in a league that keeps shifting around it, 2027 now looks like a year where margin for error could be slim. [Read more 🡒]