“I'm not going to pretend to say that I've seen any paperwork”: ESPN Insider reacts to Steve Sarkisian & Co's alleged $40M roster

College football looks more like the NFL every day. A report by ProFootballTalk has revealed that Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns have allegedly spent around $40 million in NIL deals to assemble their current roster.

While that number is still way below from the average $250 million spent by an NFL team on salaries, spending that much on players at the collegiate level is something that would've been inconceivable a decade ago.

However, there isn't proof that this report is a hundred percent accurate. Speaking this Tuesday on the "Pat McAfee Show," ESPN's Heather Dinich said the following about the news when asked by the host of the show:

"I can't tell you if it's accurate. I'm not going to pretend to say that I've seen any paperwork that breaks down specifically how much every player is getting paid at Texas. But to answer your question, yes, it costs money to win a national title. Millions and millions of dollars" Said Heather Dinich (2:35)

However, the network's senior college football writer did point out that she doesn't think that this is a sustainable long-term strategy even for blue blood programs like Texas, Alabama, or Ohio State.

She reminded viewers that the NCAA is working on a pending salary cap of around $20.5 million, and also said that sources tell her that boosters at big schools are starting to feel the strain from making these huge economic commitments to ensure the success of these programs.

Steve Sarkisian calls for necessary changes in college football

Steve Sarkisian is not happy with the way the transfer portal is being handled during the extended college football postseason. In his latest press conference, Sarkisian brought up the example of Maalik Murphy to showcase how the current system is broken.

“We try to communicate on a high level of where they’re at, where they can improve, what we envision their journey looking like short-term and long-term, but, again, two years ago we were in the College Football Playoff," Sarkisian said. "Maalik [Murphy] was our backup quarterback. He felt like he had to go into the portal to solidify a position because if he didn’t go in somebody else was going to take that spot. That’s a terrible position for a young man to be in.

“The fact that he’s worked since January with his team, competing to try and win a national championship. He started, I believe, two games for us that fall," Sarkisian said. "Then, here we are going to play a semifinal game in the Sugar Bowl against Washington. And he has to leave his team or he might lose a spot on another team. Like, none of that makes sense to me. It didn’t make sense to me then, it doesn’t make sense to me now, but that’s what we created.”

There's another point Steve Sarkisian didn't bring up, but that Maalik Murphy's situation also highlights. Losing Murphy could've been an important weakness for Texas had they lost their starting quarterback during the College Football Playoff. Being forced to rely on an untested third-string quarterback could further hamper the chances of a team that has already lost its starter.