SEC Recruiting Budgets: Are schools getting what they pay for?

By Chris Marler

On Monday the recruiting budget for every SEC football program was released on Al.com, and we got a firsthand look at exactly how much money is being spent at 15 of the schools around the conference. 

More significantly, we got to see how much less is being spent than the previous season. Multiple schools saw a significant drop in budgeting and funding specifically for recruiting budgets. Part of that is because of the growing use of the transfer portal to gain players, and part of that is also the growing acceptance that regardless of who you bring in out of high school there’s a very good chance players will enter the transfer portal. 

Here’s a look at what every school spent in 2025 and where they were able to finish in the national recruiting rankings. 

2025 Recruiting budgets (Recruiting ranking for 2026)

1. Tennessee – $4,589,573 (No. 8)
2. Alabama – $4,303,424 (No. 2)
3. Oklahoma – $3,659,318 (No. 15)
4. Texas – $3,372,619 (No. 7)
5. Texas A&M – $3,094,900 (No. 10)
6. Georgia – $2,975,732 (No. 6) 
7. Florida – $2,699,181 (No. 17)
8. Auburn – $2,352,616 (No. 31) 
9. LSU – $1,883,068 (No. 11)
10. Ole Miss – $1,874,372 (No. 22) 
11. South Carolina – $1,845,227 (No. 14) 
12. Missouri – $1,717,191 (No. 34)
13. Mississippi State – $1,520,344 (No. 23)
14. Arkansas – $1,401,323 (No. 47)
15. Kentucky – $1,271,674 (No. 59)