It’s no secret that college football recruiting has become a big-money industry. Since the NCAA (begrudgingly) began allowing players to reap name, image and likeness benefits, we’ve seen a fundamental change in high school players’ recruiting processes.
Though NIL deals, at least nominally, must be arranged by a third party, cannot be based on performance nor serve as an inducement for a player to attend a particular school, schools have a lot more latitude to spend cash from their own pockets when it comes to official recruiting visits.
And when you’re hosting the No. 1 overall recruit in the country, you better be prepared to open up the checkbook.
Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The Athletic, we now know the details of 2023 quarterback prospect Arch Manning’s official visit back in June. Manning is the nephew of former NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning.
And to call that trip “extravagant” would be an understatement.
Per The Athletic‘s Sam Khan Jr., Texas hosted a total of nine recruits (including Manning) the weekend of June 17. All told, the school reportedly spent $280,000. But hey, Manning committed three days later, so maybe it was all worth it.
Even throwing out relatively routine fees like travel, which still cost the school a total of $21,000, these expenditures are absolutely bonkers. Here are some of the highlights.
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