How much do NIL roster budgets really matter for College Football Playoff teams?

College football does have a salary cap. “We’ve gone about this in a very deliberate way, and the coaches of the programs we serve and work with, they feel they have a valued partner in us.” Jen Ferrang, general manager of Happy Valley United that supports Penn State sports, confirmed that it has invested more than $10 million in the Nittany Lions roster but declined to comment on whether its investment exceeded $15 million. Brent Blum, executive director of the We Will Collective that supports Iowa State sports, said it invested about $3 million in this year’s roster that won 10 games for the first time in school history. “I’d say is probably five or six times what we were able to do this year vs. last year,” said Tyler Harris, executive director of Hoosiers Connect. … The athletic department really doesn’t want us talking so I try to abide and stay in their good graces.” Though major acquisitions like Ohio State landing Caleb Downs from Alabama and Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss make bigger headlines during the offseason, every collective The Athletic spoke with said the majority of their money goes toward roster retention, rather than adding players through the transfer portal or in high school recruiting.