Anthony Wilson
How much does it cost to get a starting player in this current college football ecosystem?
It’s a question that begs to be answered, but is fraught with complications. Even in Year 3 of name, image and likeness, where players getting paid has become increasingly accepted, it is still a huge challenge to get real, hard data on what players are earning.
There is no centralized data. There are trades done through platforms like Opendorse that give an idea of what the market is doing, but there are still a lot of trades happening in the shadows and not officially executed through any system.
With all of this in mind, CBS Sports has attempted to come up with as accurate a market assessment as possible. We spoke with NIL agents, collective operators, college coaches and personnel officials, players and their parents, and others with knowledge of the space. There will always be outliers, but this is our best effort to establish the market range for Power Four starters at each position. These numbers also take into account what we believe to be the retention cost of preventing a player from reaching the open market.
QB Market Range: $500,000 to $800,000
Just like in NFL, quarterback is the most valuable position in college football. There are some notable outliers here — more on them in a second — but the industry agrees that you can get a quality Power Four starting quarterback in the $500,000 to $800,000 range.
“It’s QB1,” said a Power Four collective trader. “This is the most important playmaker on your team and the most valuable.”
During a recent interview with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said he couldn’t spend $1 million on a quarterback transfer, especially with Payton Thorne already on the roster. Thorne arrived at Auburn in the spring of 2023 after 26 games as a starter for Michigan State. Freeze’s comments raised the ire of collective operators frustrated by coaches’ complaints about the costs of doing business.
“I hate coaches who talk about NIL, and I don’t want to spend a million dollars,” said one NIL expert who works with several Power Four collectives. “You didn’t have to spend a million dollars. You could have a great quarterback for less than that if you knew what you were doing.”
There were schools willing to go where Freeze wouldn’t go either. The top price for a Power Four starting quarterback is in the $2 million range, according to several people with in-depth knowledge of the market. “There are some people with more than $2 million, but most are between $600,000 and $800,000,” said the NIL expert.
As Great Osobor was the top of the college basketball transfer market With his flashy $2 million deal to play for Washington, several people with knowledge of the space have pegged Miami quarterback Cameron Ward as the market leader in the most recent winter and spring transfer portal windows. Ward, who threw for 6,966 yards and 48 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter for Washington State, initially entered the NFL Draft but was not satisfied with his draft projection from the third to the fifth round. He ultimately chose Miami over the NFL and Florida State.
The December transfer portal window was where most of the quarterback action occurred, as some programs aggressively pursued starters ahead of spring football. Two other high-profile quarterbacks near the top of the market that cycle were Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who transferred from Oklahoma, and Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, who arrived from Duke.
RB Market Range: $200,000 to $300,000
Following NFL trends, running back is a position that is typically on the low end of a program’s salary range, but certain schools are willing to spend well beyond the range to retain or acquire elite running backs.
Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins was well above that range last season before entering the transfer portal in December and ultimately landing at Ohio State. Oregon State running back Damian Martinez was set to make $400,000 in Corvallis before leaving for Miami, according to ESPN.
WR Market Range: $75,000 to $150,000
This is a very important position but one where you need multiple starters so individual numbers are not as high as other positions. You’d be surprised if some of the receivers contributed at a high level within the Power Four and made less than six figures. Still, like any position, competition among top receivers to reach the transfer portal can drive up value.
OL Market Range: $350,000 to $500,000
A top left tackle could yield more than that range, but there could also be value at the guard positions. It’s an interesting position where you need a lot of them, but you can also never have too many strikers. A lot of money is spent on retention to prevent the best attackers from coming onto the market, which mirrors what typically happens at the next level.
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DL Market Range: $250,000 to $600,000
Like Freeze and the quarterbacks, LSU coach Brian Kelly didn’t like what he saw on the market when looking for defensive line reinforcements. “We’re not in the market to buy players,” Kelly told television station WAFB. “Unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.”
Despite his protests not to buy players, the truth is that the market may have been too rich for LSU’s tastes. Demand far exceeded supply for defensive equipment in this most recent transfer portal window, sending values soaring and distorting the market.
A Power Four collective trader said his school got several defensive linemen for less than the low end of the above range. On the other hand, multiple sources have pegged Oklahoma transfer Damonic Williams (TCU) and Oregon transfer Derrick Harmon (Michigan State) in the six-figure to seven-figure range. If you wanted an entry-level defensive tackle this spring, you were going to have to pay.
Edge-rushers can still secure a lot of money, and some even in the near-seven-figure range, but the market has deflated a bit overall, according to industry sources. You can generally get a quality edge-rusher for around $500,000 or a little more.
“Football players with a million dollars are rare at the moment,” said an operator of several collectives.
LB Market Range: $100,000 to $300,000
This may have been the hardest position to define because there was a disparity in conversations with sources about the cost between an elite off-ball linebacker who can rush the passer and a starting middle linebacker. Several experts put the maximum value at $600,000, which admittedly seems high for a traditional off-ball linebacker, but it makes more sense when you think about signing a player like former Alabama linebacker Will Anderson for that amount.
Database Market Range: $120,000 to $225,000
There are some schools that really value this position and are willing to spend more on it, but in general, it is one of the cheapest positions to acquire entry-level talent. The upper end of the surefire elite starter cornerback market is in the $250,000 to $400,000 range, according to multiple sources.
Safeties aren’t as sought after as top cornerbacks, but when an elite player like Caleb Downs (from Alabama to Ohio State) becomes available, several programs are willing to spend beyond the normal range.
