Curt Cignetti Reveals Cost of Indiana's CFP-Winning Roster in New Video After $40M Buzz

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti tried to set the record straight on the actual NIL cost for the Hoosiers' championship-winning squad.

Cignetti didn't go into specifics but said on Andy & Ari On3 that the "final number was closer to $15 million than $40 million." He said the price tag "was somewhere in between" those two figures:

Earlier this month, Alabama football general manager Courtney Morgan suggested that building a title-caliber roster requires upwards or $40 million or more:

Responding to one fan who didn't think Indiana paid that, Cignetti said, "Correct, not even close."

There's no question the transfer portal was pivotal to the Hoosiers' success the last two years. Cignetti brought a lot of players with him from James Madison and then augmented the roster further ahead of the 2025 season.

But Indiana didn't make a lot of splashy additions. It ranked 25th in 247Sports' team portal rankings. In the case of eventual Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, he was 22nd in the individual rankings, and no other IU transfers cracked the top 100.

Contrast that to Ohio State's approach in 2024. It was abundantly clear the Buckeyes spent big to poach safety Caleb Downs, running back Quinshon Judkins and quarterbacks Will Howard and Julian Sayin from other power-conference schools.

That's not to say the Hoosiers weren't a talented team. Mendoza is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. Wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. and cornerback D'Angelo Ponds could also be first-round picks.

Indiana's success wasn't down to writing bigger checks than its rivals. Cignetti and his staff were much better at talent evaluation and investing their NIL funds more wisely