Curt Cignetti Responds to Alabama CFB GM Saying Indiana Spent $40M on Roster to Win CFP Title

The Indiana football team certainly got bang for its buck during its run to the College Football Playoff national championship if head coach Curt Cignetti is to be believed.

Cignetti took to social media Thursday in response to suggestions top-notch college football teams are spending more than $40 million to build their rosters and said the Hoosiers were "not even close" to that number.

His reply was a direct response to a post from an Indiana-focused account, but that post was responding to comments from Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan that said teams are spending "probably more than $40 million."

Morgan also said it is a difficult landscape to navigate since "you never really know what other schools are spending."

Unlike contracts in many professional sports, there is no official database about how much money college football programs are spending on their rosters in the modern-day era of the sport with name, image and likeness opportunities on top of the transfer portal and traditional high school recruiting. 

That makes direct comparisons difficult, but Cignetti would obviously have a better idea of what the Hoosiers spent than Morgan or many commentators.

Notably, On3 conducted a survey of Power Four general managers (h/t Jeff Hauser of Sporting News), and USC was named as the highest-spending program for the 2026 recruiting cycle. Texas Tech, Oregon, Miami and Texas A&M were also cited as significant spenders.

While college football may be turning into something of an arms race, Cignetti's comments make it seem like Indiana isn't spending on par with some of the top programs.

If that is the case, it makes last season's national championship all the more impressive.

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After all, the Hoosiers entered the season as the program with the most losses in college football history but did not add a single defeat to that tally while going 12-0 in the regular season, beating the reigning national champions in Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, and then winning three straight CFP games.

One of those CFP games came against Alabama in blowout fashion before the Hoosiers then defeated Oregon and Miami to lift the trophy.

Perhaps the Crimson Tide will need to spend even more moving forward if they are going to close the 38-3 gap from their loss to the Hoosiers.