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Gopher Football Paying Out How Much Money to Players?
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- Gopher Football Paying Out How Much Money to Players?
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
The Northwestern State Demons did not belong on the same football field with the Minnesota Gophers this weekend , and unlike teams of PJ Fleck's past, these Golden Gophers had no interest in playing with their food on Saturday.
They started the game off with a pick-six, one of four defensive takeaways on the afternoon. The first teamers were so dominant that they scored 35 points in the first quarter and another 24 points in the second.
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By the time QB Drake Lindsey, S Koi Perich, EDGE Anthony Smith and the rest of Minnesota's starters were pulled from the contest, the score was 49-0 and there was still over 10 minutes remaining in the first half . The Gophers slowed their role offensively, from there, but still shut out the Demons 66-0.
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Victory highlights with your Sunday morning coffee 😌☕️ #RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers pic.twitter.com/K4YklFDBvJ
— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) September 7, 2025
Of course, a power four school with CFP aspirations is supposed to blowout their early-season FCS opponent, and Northwestern State is considered the bottom of the barrell, even at that level. Nonetheless, taking care of business is easier said than done sometimes, so winning by 66 points deserves praise.
This is a different age of college football, though. And when you look at the compensation of each roster, you quickly realize why these kinds of matchups will become mostly obsolete in the future.
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Expanded Minnesota Gophers NIL budget for football paying dividends
In all likelihood, Northwestern State doesn't have an NIL budget at all. If they are able to offer some side cash to help pay for food and rent, they'd be doing more than most of their FCS competitors.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Gophers' Name Image and Likeness fund for football has exploded over the past few years, on top of the $21 million they are now paying student athletes out of their athletic budget in 2025.
How much, you ask? Well they aren't yet to the $35 million that the Ohio States of the world have at their disposal, but on top of their new revenue sharing allotment, they could be getting close.
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According to Charley Walters (Pioneer Press) — who's arguably more plugged-in to deep-pocketed U of M donors than any other reporter in town — the 2025 Golden Gophers football team is operating under a player budget "in the $15 million range".
The revenue-sharing name, image and likeness (NIL) cost for reigning national football champion Ohio State players this season reportedly is $35 million. Player payroll for the Gophers, who play at Ohio State on Oct. 4, is in the $15 million range.
Related: Rival Schools Coming for PJ Fleck and Gophers AD Knows It
This number likely does not include NIL money, however. It's been reported multiple places over the past few months that the Gophers are using about 70-75% of their ($21M) revshare money to pay football players, which is approximately $15 million, the amount mentioned by Walters.
If we include the millions being paid to football players in separate Name, Image and Likeness dollars, or if Walters is referencing NIL money (not rev share) in his article, that would left the Gophers' total player budget exponentially higher.
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The PJ Fleck radio rant that'll live in MN Gophers history books
Back in 2022-2023, the Minnesota Golden Gophers lost running back Bucky Irving to Oregon via the transfer portal, after the Ducks came calling with Nike money that PJ Fleck and a small group of Dinkytown donors couldn't compete with in their wildest dreams.
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
That was when Minnesota's head coach went on KFAN radio , where he pleaded for fans to send their hard-earned dollars to the Gophers' licensed NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes.
Fleck warned that, if NIL donations didn't start coming in hand over fist, we'd all be left watching the football program devolve into a minor league feeder system for bigger schools to come and pluck their best talent year in and year out.
"So, if we wanna keep players, all these guys we have, they won't be here next year [if we don't get more NIL money to pay them]. Just making sure everybody understands. [That] our fans [understand]. [Our best players] won't be here. So we'll be a Triple-A ball club for somebody else. That is the reality and the truth of the situation. So please, contact Dinkytown Athletes…"
Related: Gophers Star Avoids Serious Health Scare in Rout
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From that point forward, money started pouring in to help support Gopher football. And now, Minnesota has been able to keep guys like Darius Taylor, Anthony Smith and Koi Perich , who are all being paid handsomely to wear maroon and gold.
No doubt, that speech on 100,000 watt sports radio will go down as one of the most important moments in Gopher sports history. Without it, there would be no hometown warm fuzzies with Koi or darts being thrown around the field by Drake Lindsey.
Instead of dreaming of the CFP, we'd be happy to reach bowl eligibility every few seasons, while Huntington Bank Stadium became a desolate, empty wasteland. Are we Ohio State or Oregon? No, and we never will be, as long as there's no salary cap in power four college football.
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