National Signing Day used to feel like Christmas morning for college football fans. It was a day when the future of programs was decided by faxed letters of intent and press conferences in high school gyms. But Wednesday, February 4th’s, signing day, looked nothing like those simpler times. 

The college football recruiting landscape has morphed into a negotiation chamber where high school juniors have agents brokering visit terms, and parents are negotiating monthly stipends before their kids ever take a college snap. The professionalization is upfront and unapologetic. College programs are now dealing with agents who want compensation just for bringing a kid to campus for an unofficial visit. 

“The agents are wanting to broker junior day visits,” an SEC general manager told On3, the frustration evident in his voice. “They have official visit expectations. A f——g flight and hotel rooms for a high school kid for junior day. And then $1,000 for an official visit.”

Behind the scenes, the numbers tell an even wilder story. Back in summer 2025, Texas A&M dropped nearly a million dollars, $924,481 to be exact, on official visit weekends. And half of that went to travel costs alone. NC State spent over half a million hosting 47 recruits in June, complete with trips to an inflatable water park and a TopGolf knockoff. And that’s just to get kids on campus. 

The real money comes after. USC reportedly spent $10-12 million just on their 2026 recruiting class. Five-star quarterback Mark Bowman landed somewhere between $5-6.5 million spread over three years. The pre-enrollment payment demands have become routine, almost expected. An ACC staffer mentioned that monthly payment requests now come in at $2,000 to $5,000 just to keep a recruit committed. But what’s really raising eyebrows is the amenity lists.

“We had a kid ask for a signing bonus, flight stipend, jersey number choice guaranteed, insurance policy, loss of home and disability, vehicle stipend, stipend for rental house, award campaign push, preferred walk-on spot, tickets to home and away games, and field passes for agents,” a Big Ten general manager revealed. 

One recruit’s parent even asked to be paid on the side, a request that was denied. But the fact that it was made at all shows how normalized these conversations have become. A Big 12 general manager addressed the changed reality, “You’ve got to pay for them to get here.”

The backlash from some veteran staffers is palpable. “Whoever caved into giving out the first car for free deserves to lose their job,” an SEC general manager told On3. But the acknowledged complaint hasn’t stopped the practice from spreading. A Big Ten GM talked about the competitive pressure, saying, “You can’t put together a top-25 class if you’re not doing it. People were doing it before. But it’s been taken to another level.”

The ripple effects are reshaping who gets opportunities and how programs build rosters. High school recruiting classes are shrinking. Teams that used to sign 20-25 high schoolers now bring in fewer. They save roster spots for proven transfers who can contribute immediately.

The House v. NCAA settlement means schools can now directly pay players through revenue-sharing agreements worth $13-16 million for football rosters. But that’s separate from (and in addition to) the NIL collective money that’s still flowing through third parties. 

For fans who remember when a handshake and a scholarship offer sealed the deal, this new world feels almost unrecognizable. But for the class of 2026 and beyond, this is just recruiting, where your value is set before you ever prove it, and where your high school highlights can be worth more than most people make in years.

Big NIL winners, bigger questions

When asked about the highest-paid players, 7 of 13 GMs believe it is Miami offensive tackle commit Jackson Cantrell, a Miami Hurricanes player. He is said to make over $2 million, more than some proven NFL stars earn on their rookie contracts.

Even Vanderbilt started throwing their money on the table. Back in November-December, they flipped the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026, Jared Curtis, out of Georgia. They even had Theo Vonn pitch for him, as he’s making around $2 million in year one. Additionally, the high school tight ends earn way more than their market values. USC tight end Mark Bowman signed a total deal worth potentially over $5 million over three years, which questions the rampant spending on young boys.

Various questions arose after Felix Ojo’s deal, in which the five-star offensive tackle committed to Texas Tech, and his three-year deal is expected to pay around $775k annually. One SEC GM thinks the school valued his potential size and build more than his on-field skills. Some other GMs are even harsher, with one SEC manager removing him from consideration immediately after reviewing his tape, saying he “stinks.”

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All in all, 12 months from now, we’ll have clarity on who’s worth the money and whose agent finessed the system. It’s going to be one long season for the class of 2026.