Duke football's roster among lowest paid in Power Four conferences
· Yahoo Sports
Duke football won the ACC title last season and has started the 2026 season 2-0 after a big road win at Illinois this past Saturday. If you believe a report by The Athletic, Manny Diaz and his staff are doing all this with one of the lowest-paid rosters in the Power Four conferences.
According to detailed research and reporting, the 2026 Blue Devils’ roster cost between $12 million and $15 million, only ahead of fellow ACC member Boston College, with the Golden Eagles roster coming in at $8 million to $13 million.
Visit goldparty.lat for more information.
Compare that to Miami, who is the favorite to win the conference this season; the Hurricanes are paying between $44 million and $50 million this season. Duke fans won’t be surprised that is the case, as Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes came in at the last second this past offseason and were able to get quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate to leave Durham for Miami.
This could also become a problem for the Blue Devils this upcoming offseason when it comes to keeping star running back Nate Sheppard, who will certainly have plenty of suitors heading into his junior year.
Here’s how the ACC rosters rank in NIL valuation:
1. Miami - $44-50 million
2. Clemson - $29-32 million
3. Virginia Tech - $25-30 million
4. Florida State - $23-30 million
5. Georgia Tech - $23-26 million
6. NC State - $22-26 million
7. Louisville - $22-25 million
8. SMU - $21-23 million
9. North Carolina - $20-25 million
T-10. Virginia - $20-24 million
T-10. Cal - $20-24 million
12. Syracuse - $17-22 million
T-13. Stanford - $16-20 million
T-13. Pitt - $16-20 million
T-13. Wake Forest - $16-20 million
16. Duke - $12-15 million
17. Boston College - $8-13 million
Contact/Follow us @DukeWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Duke news, notes and opinions.Follow Brian on X: @brianjstultz
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Duke football's roster among lowest paid in Power Four conferences