Lane Kiffin, LSU Reportedly Top Most Expensive CFB Roster Rankings for 2026 Season

The 2026 college football season is quickly approaching, and the teams with the most expensive rosters are starting to emerge.

Chris Hummer and John Talty of CBS Sports listed seven schools that have rosters exceeding $40 million, with Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers leading the way, after canvassing insiders around the sport.

"Multiple sources anointed LSU as college football's most expensive roster in 2026, with several sources projecting it could be over $50 million," Hummer and Talty stated.

The full list of schools in the $40M+ tier is as follows:

• LSU
• Miami
• Notre Dame
• Ohio State
• Oregon
• Texas
• Texas A&M

Each school benefits from having at least one superstar player with NFL-caliber talent, such as Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr and others.

However, it was noted that Kiffin "remade" LSU's roster with "multiple seven-figure additions" such as Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton and Ole Miss defensive end Princewoll Umanmielen.

"LSU is almost in a tier of its own this year," said one SEC front office staffer.

The Tigers will put their high-priced roster on display when they open the 2026 season in a prime-time matchup against Clemson on ABC on Sept. 5.