Take a look at what each SEC school spent on football recruiting in 2022
College football recruiting has emerged as a big-money business in recent years, especially with the implementation of the name, image and likeness rules that have turned the sport into something akin to the wild west — where money flows freely with very little oversight.
But before NIL, recruiting had already become a primary focus for the current juggernauts of the game even in the traditional sense, with coaches hitting the pavement and logging long hours in pursuit of the very best prep prospects. The billable hours of work along with travel and hosting costs — among other expenses — amount to the millions these days for many of the top programs in the nation.
USA TODAY Sports recently released its recruiting expenses for Power Five public universities for the past six years, which included 13 of the 14 SEC member schools (Vanderbilt being the lone private school representative). Take a look below at where each of the other schools landed in comparison to their conference peers. Note that the sport saw dramatic decreases in expenditures during the COVID era, which is reflected in the six-year average.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $633,482
Six-Year Average: $406,701.00
Six-Year Average Rank: 13
LSU Tigers
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $742,713
Six-Year Average: $982,769.00
Six-Year Average Rank: 7
Kentucky Wildcats
Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $917,657
Six-Year Average: $703,094.17
Six-Year Average Rank: 10
South Carolina Gamecocks
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
2022 Expenditures: $1,102,357
Six-Year Average: $773,304.33
Six-Year Average Rank: 9
Missouri Tigers
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $1,215,934
Six-Year Average: $699,049.17
Six-Year Average Rank: 11
Arkansas Razorbacks
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $1,220,882
Six-Year Average: $1,098,022.17
Six-Year Average Rank: 5
Ole Miss Rebels
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $1,269,392
Six-Year Average: $671,713.33
Six-Year Average Rank: 12
Auburn Tigers
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $1,307,480
Six-Year Average: $859,270.67
Six-Year Average Rank: 8
Florida Gators
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $1,641,320
Six-Year Average: $1,073,675.50
Six-Year Average Rank: 6
Alabama Crimson Tide
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $2,324,470
Six-Year Average: $1,912,050.33
Six-Year Average Rank: 2
Tennessee Volunteers
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $2,918,691
Six-Year Average: $1,788,183.00
Six-Year Average Rank: 3
Texas A&M Aggies
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $2,984,168
Six-Year Average: $1,567,746.00
Six-Year Average Rank: 4
Georgia Bulldogs
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Expenditures: $4,506,248
Six-Year Average: $2,753,143.17
Six-Year Average Rank: 1
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