On3 released a survey listing the top 10 biggest spenders in college football and Georgia did not make the list
On3 released a survey by writer Pete Nakos listing the top 10 biggest spenders in college football this season, which takes a look at the combined amount of money spent on incoming recruits and transfers. Surprisingly, Georgia was not on the list.
Kirby Smart has expressed negative opinions about the way the transfer portal and the NIL are going. He called out college collectives for making payments of up to $20,000/month for a recruit to commit and stay at a school, and he is worried that college teams could "buy championships" now.
As a result, Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs are more careful with how they spend their NIL money. The Bulldogs have earned praise for how they spend their NIL money, but money was a big factor in Georgia losing five-star offensive tackle recruit Jackson Cantwell to Miami in May.
Georgia also just lost out on five-star linebacker recruit Tyler Atkinson to Texas, who is college football's biggest spender. The Longhorns also flipped five-star defensive lineman James Johnson from Georgia too.
Three other SEC teams (Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn) made the list. Texas A&M currently has the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation for 2026. The Aggies also signed the No. 10 recruiting class and No. 11 transfer class in 2025.
Auburn had the No. 8 recruiting class and transfer class in 2025, even though in 2026, the Tigers have the No. 78 class.
Tennessee is a surprising addition. The Volunteers' class is ranked No. 13, but last year's transfer class ranked No. 81 in the league, and they lost starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to UCLA via the spring transfer portal.
There are four Big Ten teams (Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, USC) that make the list, along with one ACC school (Miami) and one Big 12 school (Texas Tech). Georgia added the No. 2 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, so it is impressive that the Bulldogs did it without being one of the biggest spenders.
Biggest spenders in college football this season
- Texas Longhorns
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oregon Ducks
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Miami Hurricanes
- USC Trojans
- Michigan Wolverines
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Auburn Tigers
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia Bulldogs not on list of the 10 biggest spenders in CFB
Category: General Sports
