Amid SEC increases, where does Alabama football’s support staff spending rank?

While the era of high-profile former head coaches filling analyst roles under Nick Saban has concluded, Alabama football remains a significant player in the SEC financial landscape. During the 2025 fiscal year, the program maintained a spot in the top half of the conference for support staff spending, though the Crimson Tide has seen its relative standing slip in recent years.

Breaking Down the Numbers

Financial records submitted to the NCAA and obtained by 205focus.com via open records requests reveal that Alabama landed at sixth in the conference for support staff expenditures. Note that Vanderbilt was excluded from this data due to its private status, which exempts the school from open records mandates.

Alabama invested $7.2 million into its football support staff for the fiscal year spanning July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. To put that in perspective, a similar expenditure of $6.7 million would have been enough to secure the second-highest ranking in the SEC during the 2023 fiscal year.

The landscape of collegiate athletics has shifted rapidly, with support staff spending rising across the board. Much of this growth is attributed to schools incorporating NIL-related personnel into their support staff payroll. Because NCAA rules lack specific guidelines on these classifications, reporting varies from institution to institution.

The SEC Spending Hierarchy

Tennessee emerged as the conference leader, shelling out $9.4 million on support staff in 2025. The Volunteers have seen a meteoric rise in this category, jumping from $5.1 million in 2023—good for ninth at the time—to the top spot today.

Texas joined Tennessee at the forefront, also spending north of $9 million. Georgia followed in third place with an $8.1 million investment, maintaining a level of spending consistent with its 2024 figures. Florida mirrored that $8.1 million mark, while South Carolina edged out Alabama with $7.8 million in spending.

Auburn held the 10th spot in the league, reporting $6.2 million in support staff costs. Towards the bottom of the SEC, five schools operated with budgets under $5 million, including LSU ($4.7 million), Oklahoma ($4.7 million), Mississippi State ($4.1 million), Arkansas ($3.7 million), and Kentucky ($3.4 million).

Collectively, SEC programs invested $97.4 million in football support staff during the 2025 fiscal year. This continues an aggressive upward trend, climbing from $92.7 million in 2024 and a $77.3 million total in 2023.