True cost of building Purdue football roster remains mystery

The numbers are staggering … if they are true.

Thirty million dollars. $40 million. $50 million. Those are some of the purported dollar amounts being spent to build college football rosters for the upcoming season.

Staggering.

Whether those numbers are accurate is up for debate. Still, this point is certain: The cost of roster building is rising–and doesn’t figure to come down.

Can Purdue keep pace?

“Money is not always the answer, OK?” Purdue coach Barry Odom said earlier this year. “Getting the right fit in the organization and the right people in the right places, that’s ultimately the answer. Purdue has been very aggressive in giving us every single thing that we need.”

Purdue AD Mike Bobinski has said Purdue will fund revenue sharing to the allowed limit in 2026-27: $20.5 million. It’s thought most football programs receive around 75 percent of that–-so football should be getting around $15 million to pay players.

On top of that, Purdue has NIL to further compensate players beyond the estimated $15 million from rev share. Yes, there is no more Boilermaker Alliance, the independent collective that previously helped fund NIL for players. In its place, Purdue created Boiler Brand Works. It is the athletic department arm responsible for helping athletes find NIL deals. It’s not known how many NIL deals Boiler Brand Works has cultivated for football players.

NIL arrangements over $600 have to be vetted by the College Sports Commission, the new governing body that polices NIL activity. There is a dedicated online portal called “NIL Go,” managed with the accounting firm Deloitte, used to review these agreements.”

“I don’t have one question at all about what we have to build a roster from a financial standpoint,” said Odom.

So, between rev share and NIL, how much is Purdue spending on its 2026 roster? The school isn’t saying. So, your guess is as good as anyone’s: $18 million? $20 million? $25 million?

A more important query: Is it enough?

“I don’t know how schools like Purdue or Northwestern are doing it, honestly,” said a one-time Power Four GM. “My guess is Purdue is probably around $16 million right now for football roster spending, maybe getting closer to $20 million when you include revenue sharing. But if the top programs are really spending $40–45 million, and you’re not close to that, it’s going to be hard to compete consistently.”

Some coaches, such as Michigan‘s Kyle Whittingham, predicted the dollar amount could reach $50 million in the not-too-distant future while speaking with On3’s Chris Low.

“Right now, however you want to say it, there really are no rules,” a Big Ten head coach told GoldandBlack.com. “It’s basically spend as much as you dare. We’re much closer to Major League Baseball than we are to amateurism.

“You’ve got the Yankees and Dodgers on the coasts, and then the Reds, Royals and Pirates. They all play Major League Baseball, but not everybody’s operating with the same resources.”

What does this mean for schools like Purdue, Rutgers, Minnesota, schools that may never be able to fund rosters like Ohio State? Could programs like Purdue eventually get pushed aside–and out–of the Big Ten?


”From a macro standpoint, I haven’t heard anybody talking about schools being kicked out,” the head coach said. “Somebody still has to finish 18th, right? Now, unless there’s eventually some invite-only super conference, but I haven’t heard that. Maybe I’m wrong.”

Should a school like Purdue get the same Big Ten royalty check as, say, Ohio State?

“Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t already happened,” said the head coach. “Those schools drive the television ratings. They raise the water level for everybody else’s boat. That’s just reality.”

Purdue marches on amid the tumult of college sports. And Odom feels good about where Purdue sits when it comes to fielding a competitive football program. There is a lot of negative mojo to overcome for a program that is in the midst of an 18-game Big Ten losing streak and has gone 3-21 the last two years with no victories over Power Four schools.

“Mike Bobinski our athletics director and Tiffini Grimes our sport administrator/deputy AD are two of the best in the country,” said Odom. “They’ve given us absolutely everything that we need … to go be successful, and we’re building it, and the wins are going to come.”