Over the past two seasons, a case can be made that there has been a changing of the guard as the Big Ten has arguably surpassed the SEC when it comes to being the top conference in College Football. The Big Ten has won the last two National Championships with 3 of the 4 teams that played in those final games, with Washington leaving the Pac 12.
The biggest reason the Big Ten may have surpassed the SEC is how they've been able to handle this NIL and Transfer Portal era. Once programs have been able to figure out this landscape, the Big Ten has won back-to-back Championships and may be able to continue its run of dominance if it can win it all again this season.
On his show "The Herd", Colin Cowherd laid out why he believes that the Big Ten has been able to surpass the SEC over the last few seasons.
"Big Ten schools are bigger. They have more graduates. It’s easier to raise money for NIL. You add in Phil Knight and the Nike money, add in USC and the LA economy money, the Big Ten cities, LA, New York, Rutgers, Chicago, Northwestern, Minneapolis, DC, Seattle. Big Ten money is Hollywood, tech, and financial centers. A lot of car dealerships in the SEC and car dealerships are running on razor-thin margins. So right now, the top spenders in college football, according to the On3 poll, four of the top seven are Big Ten and that’s not changing."Colin Cowherd
The On3 Poll that Colin Cowherd is referring to is one run by On3's Pete Nakos, as he surveyed individuals directly tied to programs to gain insight into who the biggest spenders in the sport are.
NEW: Top 10 Biggest Spenders in College Football this season💰
— On3 (@On3sports) July 15, 2025
(Survey via @PeteNakos_) https://t.co/KSq2X85KFe pic.twitter.com/B6YylQ1djM
The case that Colin Cowherd is making is true, as the programs have some of the biggest boosters and have built some of the craziest rosters in the sport. Oregon has the backing of Phil Knight and Nike, Michigan had the backing of the 2nd richest man in the world, Larry Ellison, who helped secure Bryce Underwood, and Ohio State's roster was declared the $20 million roster for a reason.
When you look at some of the SEC programs and their pushes to raise NIL funding, the point becomes clearer. LSU had an impressive offseason because its Head Coach declared he'd match any funds raised up to a million dollars, which allowed the program to drive donations.
On the other hand, several other SEC Programs have figured out how to use NIL to their advantage when building a roster. Texas lines up Lamborghinis every recruiting weekend, throwing their NIL prowess in everyone's faces. Tennessee publicly made a massive NIL deal to land Nico Iamaleava out of High School and has found creative ways to raise funds.
While it may be too early in the new model of College Football, especially as revenue sharing arrives in the sport, the Big Ten has certainly figured out how to win in this era. If the Big Ten wins the National Championship again this season, it'll be clear as day that the Big Ten sits above the SEC but this season the power looks to be swinging back toward the SEC.