2026 Season
Published April 28, 2026
Updated July 1, 2026
We added up every scholarship player's estimated NIL valuation on every FBS active roster — every starter and every backup we value — to rank programs by total active-roster value. Committed 2026 recruits are valued separately and are not part of these totals. The results aren't where you'd think.
The SEC has three of the top 5 — Texas, LSU, and Ole Miss; the Big Ten and Big 12 have one each, and the ACC has none. And the quarterbacks dominate the top: three of the five are anchored by an identical $6M starter — Leavitt, Moore, and Chambliss — with Arch Manning's $6.80M above them and Texas Tech's $1.76M the clear outlier below. Talent and money are more distributed in 2026 than the conference-realignment narrative would suggest.
Below: the rankings, the top player anchoring each roster, and what each team's number actually reflects.
| # | Team | Total Roster Value | Top Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  TexasSEC The most valuable active roster in the country at $36.58M — and the only one anchored by a quarterback above $6M, with Arch Manning at $6.80M. It is also among the deepest in the group at 67 valued scholarship players, with no single deal dominating: even Manning's $6.80M is 18.6% of the total. | $36.58M 67 valued scholarship players | Arch Manning QB $6.80M 18.6% of total |
| 2 |  LSUSEC Sam Leavitt's reported $6M anchors a $33.65M roster — second in the group across 60 valued scholarship players. Leavitt is the first of three identical $6M starters behind Manning. | $33.65M 60 valued scholarship players | Sam Leavitt QB $6.00M 17.8% of total |
| 3 |  OregonBig Ten Dan Lanning's roster lands at No. 3 with Dante Moore at $6M, one of the three $6M quarterbacks in the group. The $32.12M sits on 61 valued scholarship players; Oregon's 2026 recruiting class is valued separately and does not count toward this active-roster total. | $32.12M 61 valued scholarship players | Dante Moore QB $6.00M 18.7% of total |
| 4 |  Ole MissSEC In at No. 4. Trinidad Chambliss ($6M) gives Ole Miss the highest top-player share in the group at 19.8%, but behind him the roster is the joint-deepest here at 67 valued scholarship players. A lean 2026 class means nearly all of this value is already on the active roster. | $30.26M 67 valued scholarship players | Trinidad Chambliss QB $6.00M 19.8% of total |
| 5 |  Texas TechBig 12 The only Big 12 program in the top 5, in at No. 5. Texas Tech's $29.96M is the flattest build in the group — its top player, quarterback Will Hammond, is just 5.9% of the total, by far the lowest top-player share here — spread across 65 valued scholarship players with no single deal above $1.76M. | $29.96M 65 valued scholarship players | Will Hammond QB $1.76M 5.9% of total |
Total roster value sums every valuation across a program's active scholarship roster — College Athletes only. Committed 2026 high-school recruits are valued separately and are not included in this figure. It is an estimate of NIL value on the active roster, not reported contract totals.
All five top players in this list are quarterbacks. Our valuation model assigns the highest position-baseline value to QBs, reflecting the position's outsized impact on team outcomes. This is a model behavior, not a coincidence.
Most valuations are modeled estimates. Where reported figures are publicly available, those are used instead — including Sam Leavitt's $6M LSU portal deal.
Roster values reflect a June 2026 snapshot. Rankings may shift meaningfully after summer transfer movement and roster finalizations.