The Athletic estimated 2026 roster budgets on Wednesday for every Power 4 program (and Notre Dame), and the distance between Miami and the rest of the ACC is worth noting.
Miami is the only ACC team near the top, along with other big-time programs from different conferences. The rest of the conference, with Clemson coming in second, is bunched up with most of the other P4 teams.
How much did your team spend on its roster?
— David Ubben (@davidubben) September 16, 2026
Our staff @TheAthletic spent months and talked to countless people inside and outside of every Power 4 program in search of the answer.
Here's what we found. Free story: https://t.co/21A5tayYyj
Miami is outpacing rest of ACC in spending
The Hurricanes' estimated range of spending is $44 million to $50 million. That places Miami with Ohio State, Oregon, LSU and Texas in the small group of programs approaching $50 million. No other ACC team is even close to that.
Clemson is estimated at $29 million to $32 million, Florida State and Virginia Tech fall in the $25 million to $30 million range, and most of the remaining ACC is between $16 million and $26 million. Boston College is last among Power 4 teams at $8 million to $13 million.
Long-term impact on the ACC
Miami is the only program from the ACC that is spending with the big boys of the SEC and Big Ten. The others in the conference are spending money, but at least one step below the elites.
For Miami fans, the short-term benefits are lucrative. The Hurricanes have dominated the last two weeks and currently project to win their first ACC title since joining the conference. But long term, is this a concerning development for the conference?
Some of the ACC's biggest brands, such as Clemson and FSU, have major questions surrounding their programs. If Miami is going to be the leader in the clubhouse for the next couple seasons, is that going to be something strong enough to stand on?
SMU, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Pitt, Louisville and Georgia Tech (among a few others) are pulling their own weight. But to ask any of those programs, with perhaps the exception of SMU, to start spending $40-50 million dollars on their roster, would be unreliable.
Maybe they could do it, but can they do it consistently? That seems unlikely.
So, as much as it might pain Miami fans to admit, the program might actually benefit from a more competitive FSU and Clemson. And while it is probably too early to hit the conference-eject button, this is something to watch going forward.
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