What does it take to land a top recruiting class in the Big Ten? For one program, the answer is a $12 million spending spree and 35 signatures. And it’s not the team you think.

The USC Trojans are the biggest spenders of their 2026 class. They have landed 35 commits, including three 5-star players, by spending a total of $10–$12 million. The average NIL value for a USC recruit is approximately $197,000. Mark Bowman, a five-star tight end, dominates the class with a NIL deal worth between $5 million and $6.5 million over three years. But how did they do it?

USC landed the majority of its class before the House v. NCAA settlement revenue-sharing agreement started in July 2025. This enabled them to get more players with front-loaded NIL contracts that are paid out primarily during the players’ freshman and sophomore years. This aggressive pre-settlement spending was complemented by a strategic shift in personnel, especially the hiring of GM Chad Bowden from Notre Dame.

The Trojans focused on major high school recruiting rather than spending time on the portal. The program signed 20 players from California, out of the 35 total. But in the Big Ten, we expect programs like Ohio State or Oregon to go big.

Although the Ducks have not publicly disclosed their exact total spending for the 2026 class, analysts estimate that Oregon’s average NIL valuation per recruit stands at $212,000, which surpasses USC’s per-player average. The primary significant investor is Phil Knight and the “Nike Connection.” The co-founder of Nike is also a former Duck. As of now, Knight has donated over $1 billion to the university and is a primary backer of the program’s NIL efforts.

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Knight and other major donors have founded this independent collective to organize NIL deals for Oregon athletes. Athletes often sign lucrative, direct deals with Nike. For example, players like Dante Moore and Dakorien Moore have signed exclusive agreements to promote special collections, such as the “Grateful Ducks” line.

In contrast to USC’s front-loaded approach, Ohio State presents a different model of financial power in the Big Ten. While the exact spending amount for their 2026 class isn’t publicly available, the value of Ohio State and Texas Tech’s rosters combined went over $63 million in NIL. The average NIL value for OSU commits is estimated at $156,000.

OSU’s 2024 national championship-winning roster was valued at $20 million. After that, the investment in the Buckeyes’ gridiron increased to a range of $35-$40 million. The university brought in a record $68.2 million in donor-funded contributions in FY2025. To maximize efficiency, Ohio State put together its external collectives (like THE Foundation and the 1870 Society) into a new in-house entity called Buckeye Sports Group. This group calculates NIL deals with Learfield to help the program remain competitive in the NIL market.

So the only thing separating USC from these two programs is just the higher number of commits. Oregon has landed 23 commitments, and OSU has landed 28.

OSU’s in-school investment might not be helpful in the future

On Tuesday, Ross Bjork sat down with Eleven Warriors’ Dan Hope and Chase Brown to discuss how Ohio State will distribute revenue-sharing among its sports programs.

“Basketball will have a bigger (revenue share) number next year,” Bjork said. “And then it’s about, again, the race to build out third-party NIL opportunities is here. We’ve done it on the football side, and we’re doing it on the basketball side. We’ve got to build that number up.”

It might sound bad for Buckeyes football, but if you pay attention, it isn’t that bad. So the NCAA revenue-sharing agreement allows $20.5 million in revenue to be paid directly to the student-athletes. Keeping that in mind, OSU football always used to get the bigger share of the pie because of its continued success. In the 2025–26 academic year, OSU athletics received $18 million. They set aside $2.5 million to fund 91 new scholarships across its 36 varsity sports.

Football got the most of it, and then basketball. But this situation will be changing, and it’s for the greater good. Football’s growing success has led many NIL collectives to invest heavily in the sport. The school brought in a record $44 million in gross sponsorship revenue last year, including new partnerships with firms such as Anduril.

However, now some focus needs to be diverted to Basketball. The men’s team is in a catastrophic situation, finishing with a 17-15 record in 2024-25 and failing to make the NCAA tournament. By reallocating funds, Bjork aims to build a basketball program that can attract its own NIL investment, a move he believes is essential for the department’s overall health.