Report: Oregon’s Roster Cost at Least $29 Million More than OSU’s, the Gap Between the Rest of the Big 12 Isn’t That Big

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STILLWATER — It feels like Duck season.

​Much of the national college football conversation since Saturday has centered on Oregon’s loss to the Cowboys in Stillwater, with topics including: Oregon quarterback Dante Moore’s pro future, the Ducks’ falling playoff chances, Dan Lanning’s coaching decisions, whether the Cowboys could accurately predict many of Oregon’s plays and, yes, the money spent on what now looks like an underperforming roster.

All of which paints the Cowboys, particularly Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker, in a good light as they are praised for earning one of the early signature wins of the season.

On Wednesday, the Athletic posted a massive story that attempted to break down all Power Conference (and Notre Dame) football roster budgets. The reporters give several caveats that all of these are based largely on a combination of estimates given by more than 70 various contacted sources.

For what it’s worth, it does feel like the first somewhat accurate roster budget breakdown, even if there were almost as many disclaimers as you see on medical commercials.

Oklahoma State’s estimated budget fell between $15-19 million. Technically, that put the Cowboys in a tie with Houston for 63rd out of 68 teams, but that’s a little deceptive.

According to the Athletic’s reporting, the average Big 12 budget fell between $18-22 million. That’s $3 million behind the ACC range and a whopping $9 million and $15 million behind the Big Ten and SEC averages.

But, for now, it’s safe to say Oklahoma State should be more concerned with competitiveness with its league mates.

As expected, Texas Tech is well ahead of the pack with an estimated budget of $38-42 million. TCU is next with an estimate of $22-25 million.

The Cowboys are one of seven Big 12 teams spending between $15-22 million, and Arizona, Iowa State and Cincinnati are even lower on the list.

Here’s what Oklahoma State’s Big 12 schedule looks like based on roster budget:

NOTE: To make the data easier to understand, the middle of all ranges was used. So, in the chart below, Oklahoma State and Houston make the same money because their range is exactly the same, but technically one school could make $4 million more than the other if both teams fall at different ends.​

Again, it’s worth mentioning that it is possible West Virginia spends as much as $7 million more than OSU if the Cowboys fall at the bottom of the range while the Mountaineers top out at $22.

But in general, Oklahoma State is largely spending similar amounts to its 2026 conference opponents with UCF, Iowa State and Kansas all looking especially winnable from a financial standpoint. That alone would put the team two wins short of bowl eligibility, assuming OSU beats FCS foe Murray State this weekend.

Of course, none of this should limit Oklahoma State, who just proved that a talented team and a good coaching plan can still trump piles of cash.

Oregon’s range ranked second in the country, with an estimated budget of $48-54 million behind only Ohio State ($49-54 million). Even if the Ducks spent the lowest amount and the Cowboys spent the most, that’s still a difference of $29 million.

Whatever the Cowboys are paying everyone involved with Saturday’s win, it certainly seems to be worth every penny and then some.

Please check out the Athletic’s complete report (the graphics look really cool) for free using the link below, courtesy of the Athletic:

Very excited to share this project.

With a lot of reporting, we came up with the estimated roster budget for every P4 team.

They go up as high as $55M and start as low as $8M.

See where your team ranks. And everyone else’s.

Read for free:https://t.co/JObx6x7VaI

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 16, 2026