Among the biggest spenders, reported spending is only a loose guide to results so far (a correlation of +1 would mean budget order exactly matched results).

• Top 10 reported budgets: 44-12 combined (.786), 6 teams in the AP top 10.
• Next 15: 64-20 (.762), 3 teams in the AP top 10.

• Each team's value is the midpoint of its reported range from The Athletic (e.g. $49-54M → $51.5M).
• We compute the Spearman rank correlation between reported midpoint and (a) win % and (b) AP rank, both oriented so a positive number means more money goes with better results. Unranked teams are coded 26.
• vs. Payroll column. Expected = the team's rank by reported budget midpoint among these 25 (1 = biggest). Actual = its performance rank among the same 25: AP-ranked teams first in AP order, then unranked teams by win %, then by AP poll points (others receiving votes). Ties share the higher position and are shown with T- (e.g. three coaches at $10.0M are all T-13; the next is #16). The number is pay rank minus performance rank: ▲ +N means the team ranks N or more spots better on the field than its payroll rank (3+, row tinted green), ▼ -N means N or more spots worse (3+, tinted red), and – means within 2. Coach table and value lists: performance is each coach's career win % at his current school, including 2026 to date (all games he coached there, bowls and playoffs included; current stint only: for coaches who returned to a school they coached before, only games since the return count; see the * note). The pool is Power Four head coaches (68 programs: SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Notre Dame) with 13+ games at their school and a sourced salary: 41 coaches. Pay and win % are both ranked within that pool (1 = highest paid / best win %, exact ties share T-N); the number is pay rank minus win % rank, and the arrow shows at 4+ spots (10% of the pool). Coaches under 13 games (mostly first-year hires) and interim coaches are N/A, first season. Pay: the 25 highest-paid use On3/Rivals 2026 (reported; private schools are On3 estimates); every other coach uses the USA Today 2025 coach salary database (public-records figures, 2025 season). Private schools outside On3's top 25 don't publish current contracts (USA Today lists a few from tax filings that lag two or more years), so they are left out: Bill O'Brien (Boston College); Manny Diaz (Duke); Rhett Lashlee (SMU); Fran Brown (Syracuse); Jake Dickert (Wake Forest); Dave Aranda (Baylor); Kalani Sitake (BYU); Sonny Dykes (TCU); David Braun (Northwestern); Clark Lea (Vanderbilt). Records: the 25 highest-paid from ESPN game results; others from Wikipedia's current FBS coaches list, with every coach named in the value lists checked against ESPN results.
• Wins per $M = wins ÷ reported pay in $M.
• Records, AP rank and AP points come from ESPN's public APIs (AP poll of Oct 11), as of Oct 12, 2026, 12:23 PM CT. The page is rebuilt weekly; budget and salary figures stay the reported ones.
• Context: the 2026-27 school-paid revenue-sharing cap is reported at about $21.3M; third-party NIL sits on top, which is why reported roster budgets can exceed double the cap.

1. These are reported estimates from anonymous sources, given as ranges. Some ranges span $10M (Texas, Florida).
2. Outlets measure different things. The Athletic counts program-controlled money; others count market value or all player pay. Don't compare across outlets.
3. Half a season is a small sample, and schedule strength varies.
4. Only the top 25 reported spenders are included, so lower-budget teams that are ranked aren't.
5. AP rank partly reflects preseason expectations, which themselves correlate with talent and money.
6. A correlation isn't a causal finding.

• Coach pay vs. AP rank: +0.53; reported roster spending vs. AP rank: +0.34. Pay largely rewards past success.
• Top 10 paid: 45-13 combined, 7 of 10 ranked. Ranked 11-25 by pay: 57-27, 4 of 15 ranked.
• Beating their pay rank: Dan Lanning (Oregon), Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Josh Heupel (Tennessee), Mario Cristobal (Miami). Trailing it: Lincoln Riley (USC), Mike Norvell (Florida State), Eli Drinkwitz (Missouri), Deion Sanders (Colorado), Bill Belichick (North Carolina), Shane Beamer (South Carolina), Matt Rhule (Nebraska), Luke Fickell (Wisconsin).

Wins per $M is noisy at this point of the season; schedule strength isn't accounted for.