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Since NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) was implemented in 2021, the great mystery surrounding college sports but mainly football has been how much money the players make and how much each school is spending.
You'll recall in the summer of 2022 when James Franklin lamented Ohio State coach Ryan Day's contention that it would take $13 million to keep the Buckeyes' roster together and why Penn State shouldn't expect to compete with anything less.
One of Franklin's specialties was trying to keep up with the Joneses off the field, even though schematically on the field, he couldn't.
What's crazy is in just four years since, those numbers have quadrupled.
According to an investigation published this week in The Athletic, Ohio State now leads all NIL spenders with a roster estimated between a staggering $49 and $54 million.
The information, gleaned through conversations with athletic directors, coaches, personnel directors and agents, came from summer research by multiple reporters who probed every school in the four major conferences - the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12.
Penn State came in tied at No. 22 with an estimated roster valued between $29 and $32 million.
That puts the Lions seventh among Big Ten teams behind the Buckeyes, No. 2 Oregon ($48-54M), No. 12 USC ($37-40M), No. 13 Indiana ($36-40M), No. 14 Michigan ($36-40M) and No. 18 Nebraska ($31-35M).
Matt Campbell, refreshingly, has accepted the pace of Penn State's spending.
"We're not going to win at all costs," he said at the outset of fall camp. "We're going to win the right way."
For too many years, college football players weren't paid, at least legally, struggled to deal with red-tape transferring and had very little power.
That's all changed.
Now, they're arguably making more money than some of them might earn if they're fortunate enough to play pro football.
In 2025, the NCAA established a revenue-sharing program in which schools could spend $20 million on their teams - mainly football, men's basketball and women's basketball.
Somehow, though, that's not enough, as evidenced by The Athletic's reporting.
Here are some other roster valuations of interest: No. 7 Notre Dame ($41-48M), No. 26 Virginia Tech ($25-30M), No. 52 West Virginia ($18-22M), No. 56 Pitt ($16-20M), No. 65 Iowa State ($13-17M).
Ranking last at No. 68 is Boston College, which is spending between $8 and $12 million. Former Penn State coach Bill O'Brien is trying to make that work.
Never one to mince words, O'Brien recently called the state of college football "a terrible system ... There are no rules."
It's a wonder that some of these schools aren't passing the hat on Saturday afternoons.
NITPICKING
• The main storyline this week was the absence of running back Quinton Martin against Temple. Matt Campbell hinted a message was being sent when he said Tuesday: "It's why practice is so critically important right now. Working through the week, (we're) trying to either go with a hot hand or finding the guys that are earning the right to either have packages or get critical moments."
• Many project Penn State to be on the College Football Playoff bubble this year, which would probably mean 10-2. There are a whole lot of big games between now and then, but if Ohio State loses another game (Indiana, USC, maybe Oregon or Michigan), a two-loss Buckeye team will likely still rank higher than the Nits.
• In that regard, considering Michigan bounced back to beat Oklahoma last week, the Lions' trip to the Big House could be a potential early elimination game from the CFP. Again - if both end the season with two losses.
• The online meme that went around following Texas' win over Ohio State depicting of Steve Sarkisian's interaction with ABC's Holly Rowe was disgusting and merited the apology Arch Manning provided after he laughed about it.
• The 1986 team, author of what is still the greatest victory in PSU history (14-10 over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl), will be honored today. The last few anniversary teams (1973, 1994) have been relegated to a group wave since the in-game or halftime script apparently are too rigid. Here's hoping Penn State makes the time to at least buzz through the list of returning team members today.
Neil Rudel covers Penn State football and can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.