UGA football named as smartest NIL spender
Several insiders have named the Georgia Bulldogs as the college football team that spent their name, image and likeness (NIL) money the best on recruiting in the 2025 cycle. Georgia finished with the No. 2 recruiting class in the country behind the Texas Longhorns.
Several NIL collectives in the SEC, Big Ten and ACC along with Power Four personnel staffers spoke with Pete Nakos of On3 (subscription required) regarding the NIL spending in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
“Georgia. A school like Georgia has the history where they can pay a little less,” said an SEC NIL collective when asked what school spend their NIL money the smartest. The Bulldogs have recently won two national championships and have produced multiple first-round draft picks in three straight NFL drafts.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart focuses on his historic success in developing players and the numerous big games you’ll play at if you come to UGA. Of course, having a close relationship with top recruits is key too. However, money definitely matters.
“Georgia is pretty good with how they spend money,” said an NIL collective representative from the ACC. “It’s rare that they ever overspend.”
Georgia’s top incoming recruit is five-star defensive lineman Elijah Griffin. The Bulldogs still managed to sign four five-star recruits despite being not named among the biggest recruiting spenders.
Collectives named Texas, Texas A&M, Oregon, Auburn, Ohio State, Tennessee and Nebraska as the top NIL spenders in recruiting. Texas, Texas A&M, Oregon and Ohio State were most frequently mentioned among the biggest spenders.
The changing world of recruiting is becoming tough with players making various demands and NIL bidding wars. However, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has weathered the storm just fine.
“Georgia got some guys for a steal,” said one insider. “Kirby (Smart) really leaned into some old-school stuff in getting guys to come at a discount.”
It didn’t hurt that Georgia has a surprising amount of playing time to offer to incoming freshmen.
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