Every year, Ohio State football fans complain about the spending surrounding the team. The Buckeyes have lost out on multiple five-star recruits due to NIL offers. They have done a little bit better with that this year, but still lost out on David Gabriel Georges and Monshun Sales due to that problem.
Ryan Day has said multiple times throughout the years that he would rather spend money on proven talent. Meaning, Day would rather use their funds on roster retention instead of talent acquisition. The true amount the Buckeyes are spending on the roster has been revealed, and it's pretty shocking.
Ohio State is among the top spenders in the country on its football team
According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, the Buckeyes spend somewhere in the $49-54 million range. They are ranked as possibly the top spender in the country, based on the 70 different sources they talked to. However, it's impossible to fully nail down how much the Buckeyes are spending.
In fact, one source mentioned that no one knows how much the Ohio State Buckeyes are paying Jeremiah Smith, who is likely the most expensive player on the roster.
“It’s tough to say what exactly is Ohio State paying (star receiver) Jeremiah Smith because he’s getting massive national deals right now,” said a former Power 4 athletic director. “But who knows what exactly they are on the hook for?" Feldman wrote.
This shouldn't come as a surprise to fans. Ohio State usually has either the first or second-most profitable athletic department in the country every year. That is why they are able to fund this large amount of money they are giving these football players and still keep non-revenue sports alive.
However, with that much spending comes more scrutiny. This gives fans more ammo to be mad about losses, especially about how the 20-point lead was blown against Texas. If you are spending $50 million on a team, shouldn't they be able to keep a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter of a game?
Ohio State still has work to do in the NIL space
While the Buckeyes might be spending more than any other program in the country, they still have work to do in the NIL space. They need to be able to balance the budget better, especially if the spending is resulting in poor losses like the one experienced on Saturday.
Day and his staff have to figure out a better way to allocate that money. Either that, or the coaching staff needs to do a better job coaching players who command a lower budget. Ideally, the solution is to have both of those things occur. Spending less and getting more out of the team is the ideal scenario.
The Buckeyes are still in a position to make the College Football Playoff, assuming they win the rest of their games. With how tough the schedule is, they might be afforded one more loss and still get in. However, Day needs to fix the issues that the team clearly has when it comes to finishing games.
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