Steve Sarkisian calls out salary cap problem in college football’s new era: ‘Someone’s going to get punished’

Backed by one of college football’s most expensive rosters, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian understands the importance of wealth management entering the 2025 season. The only program leader who’s led his team to consecutive appearances in the playoff semifinals, Sarkisian’s chief responsibility is game planning and ensuring his players execute with precision.

All the other intricate details in the game’s new era of staggering NIL deal and player payments falls on others within his organization, namely general manager Brandon Harris. The former LSU quarterback has helped oversee an impressive run of talent acquisition and retention since taking over the role in 2024.

With a cap expected at $20 million through revenue sharing this season around college football, Sarkisian believes the financial part of the equation will soon be enforced and significantly policed by the NCAA.

“Somewhere down the road, I don’t know if it’s tomorrow, next week or next year, but someone’s going to get punished going over the cap,” Sarkisian said Sunday at the Texas High School Coaches Convention. “I surely don’t want to be the school that gets punished for doing that because I like coaching and I like the salary the University of Texas pays me to coach, let’s be frank.”

The financial part of the equation — like a front office and ownership’s job within the NFL — is to make sure the numbers fit and your two-deep payroll makes sense. 

“You have a cap you’re trying to operate within and how do you manage that cap? That cap pertains to really three layers to your team,” Sarkisian said Sunday at the Texas High School Coaches Convention. “There’s a recruitment cap. Call it like it is — players are getting paid to go to school. How much do you allocate to that area in your cap and how do you divvy up that money per position per player? Then, there’s the current roster and then there’s retention of your roster.”

Expensive rosters

The Houston Chronicle reported earlier this year the Longhorns dished out $35-40 million across what they hope to be a national championship squad for this season’s roster, after which Sarkisian shot down those figures.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti told CBS Sports this spring that many of the nation’s top programs allocated tens of millions to their talent acquisition efforts. Ohio State famously had a $20 million roster last season highlighted by key transfer portal acquisitions, according to athletic director Ross Bjork, which carried the Buckeyes to a national championship under Ryan Day.

“I think our little pot of gold is pretty nice, but we’re not at $40 million. Or $30 million. Or even $25 million,” Cignetti said.

Texas Tech is reportedly paying $28 million for its roster, one heavy-laden with portal additions in its ramp up to seize the Big 12, while LSU, according to several sources, allocated more resources to talent acquisitions this offseason than ever before in Brian Kelly’s tenure.

That’s part of the reason the Tigers signed the nation’s No. 1 portal class per 247Sports in the 2025 recruiting cycle, with the Red Raiders at No. 2.

To Sarkisian’s point and others who have spoken this summer on roster building — including Colorado’s Deion Sanders, who wants to see a mandated salary cap — coaches do not have the time to donate toward contract logistics and making a roster fit under cap restrictions.

The House v. NCAA settlement has forever altered college football’s operating structure and more number-crunching positions will be created — and become necessary — moving forward.

Longhorns’ recruiting success

Sarkisian and Texas moved into the top five nationally for 2026 following Sunday night’s commitment from four-star athlete Derrek Cooper. His decision wrapped a significant week for the Longhorns, who also garnered verbals from five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and four-star defensive lineman James Johnson.

All three players are from outside of Texas, proof that Sarkisian’s planting flags throughout the southeast with no signs of slowing down after winning wars over Georgia, Alabama, Florida and others.

This comes after Texas signed the nation’s No. 1 class for 2025 ahead of its first season in the SEC. Five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry was one of the headliners in that group, who signed with the Longhorns over Kirby Smart and Georgia thanks to a sizable NIL contract.