Report: Penn State football recruiting spent nearly $1.5 million in recruiting last year

The recent Penn State football recruiting efforts seem to be paying off, as they currently claim a top-six class nationally with 13 hard commits and counting. Last season, the Nittany Lions managed to pull together an impressive class, with their 2023 class ranking No. 13 nationally in the composite rankings and totaling 23 hard commits. The class boasted a few major studs, including linebacker Tony Rojas, but it came at a hefty price tag of nearly $1.5 million.

Penn State football recruiting shells out close to $1.5 million in recruiting in 2022

If Penn State football wants to continue to be a top 10 program and make a push for the Big Ten title, national title, and more, recruiting high school talent well is a key component in the program’s future. So far, during his nearly 10-year tenure in State College, Penn State head coach James Franklin has done a great job recruiting high school talent, though it all has come at a price… a very expensive price.

According to a recent CBS Sports report, the Penn State football program spent over $1,486,500 in recruiting last year en route to the team’s top-15 class. Right now, Penn State appears to be enjoying even greater success on the recruiting trail, though only time will tell how the 2024 class will pan out for the Nittany Lions.

The Big Ten college football teams that spend the most money on recruiting per CBS.

1. Michigan ($2,240,064)
2. Rutgers ($1,609,032)
3. Penn State ($1,486,521)
4. Maryland ($1,380,974)
5. Ohio Stats ($1,292,799)
6. Illinois ($1,157,460)
7. Minnesota ($1,127,389)
8. Nebraska… pic.twitter.com/nKFiVzmfSO

— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) May 7, 2023

Out-bid by… Rutgers?

Last year, Penn State football spent a lot of money on recruiting, and although the Nittany Lions finished 3rd in recruiting, one surprising team outspent them, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, totaling over $1,609,000 in recruiting expenses for a class that barely ranked in the top 60 (57th) nationally in the 247 Sports composite rankings. Rutgers even lost to Penn State by a score of 55-10 in its own stadium in 2022.

The highest spender on recruiting in the Big Ten last year was the back-to-back Big Ten Champion Michigan Wolverines, who shelled out a whopping $2,240,000 on recruiting expenses for a class that barely ranked in the top 20 nationally. All in all, Michigan failed to sign a five-star recruit in the 2023 class and finished at No. 18 in the composite rankings despite being the conference’s top spender.

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