Texas Tech’s football program is making headlines, and not for the reasons most fans would expect. According to reports, the Red Raiders’ roster will cost over $28 million this season, a staggering figure for a program that has not been ranked since 2018.

What’s happening at Texas Tech should not be surprising. It’s a sign of how far the landscape has shifted in the new era of name, image, and likeness (NIL). In the past, schools could lean on tradition, prestige, and pipeline recruiting. Today money talks, and programs without historical dominance have a chance to level the playing field.

Texas Tech doesn’t have the national clout of Texas or the historical weight of nearby universities. What truly sets them apart is their NIL collective backed by billionaire donors like Cody Campbell, Michael Portnoy, Vicki Cooper, and even Patrick Mahomes. Armed with unprecedented financial support, Texas Tech entered the offseason with a clear mission to transform itself into a serious contender. In March, they unveiled $240 million worth of renovations featuring brand-new training facilities, advanced weight rooms, upgraded nutrition centers, modern player lounges, and top-tier recovery amenities. Texas Tech also used collective money to secure commitments from 13 four-star recruits, highlighted by a groundbreaking fully guaranteed $5.1 million NIL deal for five-star freshman Felix Ojo.

Texas Tech’s added talent should put them into the preseason Top 25 with expectations of making an impact in the Big 12. With the departure of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, the Big 12 lacks a true powerhouse football program. Last season, Arizona was picked to finish dead last in the Big 12, but they defied expectations and went on to win the conference championship. If Arizona can do it, why not Texas Tech?

The automatic bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff now goes to the conference champion, positioning the Red Raiders just one breakthrough season away from securing a spot on college football’s biggest stage. This would not only be monumental for the players but also for the university as a whole. A College Football Playoff run would convert into an increase in merchandise revenue, larger alumni donations, and a boost in applications. One NCAA report found that after a team wins a national championship, applications increase by 8–12% the following year.  (Anderson, 2017). A separate 2019 study by the Journal of Sports Economics confirmed that athletic success especially in football and basketball leads to noticeable increases in both student enrollment and donations. (Zimbalist, 2019). For a school investing $28 million in its roster, national relevance is the fastest way to turn a short-term expense into long-term gains.

The programs that adapt are redefining what success looks like. And at the heart of that shift? Money. With the backing of collective money, programs can now turn things around quickly, making NIL no longer a fringe concept or clever recruiting pitch, but an absolute necessity. It allows programs without deep-rooted traditions or blue-blood pedigrees to compete with the sport’s giants. As Texas Tech is proving, with the right backing and bold execution, NIL can do more than close the gap, it can flip the hierarchy altogether. Schools with financial firepower now have a legitimate path to national relevance. In a landscape where history is being rewritten in real time, NIL has become the fastest way to climb to the top, and it’s only going to become more common.

Work Cited

Anderson, M. L. (2017). The Benefits of College Athletic Success: An Application of the Propensity Score Design. The Review of Economics and Statistics MIT, 119-134.

Zimbalist, B. B. (2019). The Impact of College Athletic Success on Donations and Applicant Quality. Journal of Risk and Financial Management.