The Georgia Bulldogs spent the most on recruiting of any team in college football during the 2022 fiscal year. Georgia’s recruiting expenditures have paid off in the form of back-to-back national championships.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and the coaching staff rack up a bigger recruiting bill than any other program over the past six years. In today’s era of college football, it is simply the cost of doing business.
Overall, Georgia spent $4.51 million on recruiting for football in 2022. Clemson was the only other school to spend over $3.0 million on football recruiting in 2022.
Georgia has remained one of the best recruiting programs in college football over the past several seasons. Georgia is showing no signs of slowing down either. The Bulldogs have the No. 1 ranked class of 2024. Notably, Kirby Smart and the Georgia coaching staff aggressively hit the recruiting trails shortly after winning the national championship against TCU.
Bringing in an elite level of talent and depth is the primary reason why Georgia football was finally able to get over the hump and win a national championship. Georgia’s winning has come at a price, but frankly it is a price that most Georgia fans are okay with.
The University of Georgia Athletic Association reported that Georgia brought in $203,048,566 in revenue during the 2022 fiscal year. The Bulldogs spent $202,761,214 during 2022 when things like capital expenditures and a donation to the University of Georgia are factored in.
What exactly is a recruiting expense? Adam Sparks of USA TODAY paints a clear picture:
Recruiting expenses cover transportation, lodging and meals for recruits, additional personnel for official and unofficial visits, phone charges and postage for pursuing recruits and the value of schools’ vehicles and planes or those used by the school for recruiting. Compensation for coaches and recruiting support staff is not included in the recruiting expenses.
Georgia and other college football programs are getting larger and larger support staffs, which heavily increases the expenses for the football program, but is not considered a recruiting expense. Additionally, it should be noted that different accounting methods could skew the data, which public institutions provide.
