Texas will spend $35-40 million on its 2025 football roster

Horns down payment.

Via Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle, the University of Texas will pay $35 million to $40 million for its 2025 football roster. The number includes what likely will be $20.5 million in revenue sharing plus NIL payments from the Texas One Fund.

The spike in money for the players apparently will be a one-time thing, since many schools will be phasing out their NIL collectives in lieu of revenue sharing until the pending antitrust settlement.

Texas won't disclose how many players will make at least $1 million. Quarterback Arch Manning will be the highest paid Longhorn "by far." All of his money comes from NIL deals done separate and apart from the school.

Manning will be starting for the first time in 2025. Despite the fact that he's the betting favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2026 draft, he could still choose to come back for 2026.

While $45 million seems like a lot, remember this. The NFL's initial per-team salary cap, way back in 1994, was $34.6 million. This year, it's $279.2 million.

Thus, even though college football players finally will be getting paid, it's still a lot less money than what is and will continue to be available to NFL players.