“I wish I had another $15M or so”: Steve Sarkisian dismisses $40M roster rumors with candid admission

Steve Sarkisian refuted a report regarding the amount Texas has spent on its roster in NIL money heading into the 2025 season. Earlier this spring, a report by the Houston Chronicle claimed that the Longhorns had spent between $35–40 million in assembling its roster.

While the Longhorns have their eyes on the national championship after playing in the semifinals the last two seasons, Sarkisian noted that the report is inaccurate. His denial follows the report by Chip Brown of 247Sports, which claims the NIL figures were far from reality.

“What's frustrating on that is it was a little bit of irresponsible reporting,” Sarkisian told SiriusXM of the initial Houston Chronicle report. “It was one anonymous source said that was what our roster was. I wish I had $40 million on our roster. We'd probably be a little bit better team than we are.

"... We've been to the CFP two years in a row. And we've had, shoot, I don't know, 20-something guys draft the last two years. So it's been great. It's been a great run. I wish I had about another $15 million or so, although we might have a little better roster.”

Ohio State’s roster, which won the national championship last season, reportedly cost $20 million to assemble. The sharp increase in NIL spending across college football comes in anticipation of the impending NCAA vs. House settlement, which is expected to cap how much schools can allocate to their rosters.

Under the proposed revenue-sharing model, universities will be permitted to directly pay athletes, with roughly $20 million available annually to be distributed across sports programs. Steve Sarkisian and his colleagues believe it will bring more clarity to the complex college football NIL landscape.

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Steve Sarkisian criticizes the modern antics of the media

Speaking on SiriusXM, Steve Sarkisian criticized the mode of operation of the media. The coach noted that journalists have little intention to verify what's reported by their colleagues in the age of social media.

"What's crazy about this day and age that you guys operate in -- and I've watched this for 25 years now -- the evolution of Twitter and social media and podcasts; one guy writes an article from an anonymous source that says that's what our roster is," said Sarkisian.

"Everybody ran with it. And I'm talking real publications ran with it. And it's like, 'That's what's going on at Texas.' Nobody asked me one question. Like, okay, sure. But if that's what you think, that's fine. If that's the narrative you want to paint for our team, that's fine."

Steve Sarkisian and Texas will be at the center of attention in 2025, especially with Arch Manning starting at quarterback. The team is bound to receive overwhelming favor as well as intense scrutiny next season as they challenge for the national championship.