Syracuse football is operating with one of the smaller roster budgets in the power conferences, according to a new report from The Athletic.
The Orange’s estimated budget lands in the $17 million to $22 million range, which puts SU at No. 53 overall among the 68 programs in the power-four conferences - the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC - plus Notre Dame. In the national rankings, Syracuse sits just behind West Virginia and just ahead of Colorado.
An SU Athletics spokesperson declined to comment on The Athletic’s report.
At the top of the national list is Ohio State, with an estimated range of $49 million to $54 million. Miami comes in sixth overall at $44 million to $50 million, a figure that tracks with the Hurricanes’ status as the ACC’s current standard-bearer after reaching the College Football Playoff national championship game last season.
At the other end of the spectrum, Boston College is last among the power-conference programs included in the report, checking in at $8 million to $13 million. That gap between the top and bottom of the sport is stark, and Syracuse is much closer to the lower end than the upper tier.
Within the ACC, Syracuse slots in near the bottom. Here’s how the conference stacks up:
- Miami, $44 million to $50 million
- Clemson, $29 million to $32 million
- Virginia Tech, $25 million to $30 million
- Florida State, $23 million to $30 million
- Georgia Tech, $23 million to $26 million
- N.C. State, $22 million to $26 million
- Louisville, $22 million to $25 million
- North Carolina, $20 million to $25 million
- California, $20 million to $24 million
- Virginia, $20 million to $24 million
- SMU, $21 million to $23 million
- Syracuse, $17 million to $22 million
- Pittsburgh, $16 million to $20 million
- Stanford, $16 million to $20 million
- Wake Forest, $16 million to $20 million
- Duke, $12 million to $15 million
- Boston College, $8 million to $13 million
SU’s spot is hardly a shock, and Miami leading the ACC isn’t one either. The more notable number in the conference race is SMU at No. 11, especially since the Mustangs have been one of the league’s stronger teams since joining the ACC in 2024.
On the bigger national scale, The Athletic’s report suggests the usual pattern holds true more often than not: the programs spending the most are usually the ones winning the most. Syracuse, which is 1-2 overall so far in the 2026 season, is trying to make that math work in its own favor.
Perhaps, but it will be tough.
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