Duke football's roster among lowest paid in Power Four conferences
Duke and Manny Diaz are doing more with a lot less than most of its fellow ACC and Power Four football programs.
The Duke football team, champions of the ACC last season, has begun the 2026 campaign with a perfect 2-0 record following a significant victory over Illinois last Saturday. According to a report by The Athletic, the Blue Devils' roster is among the least compensated in the Power Four conferences. Research indicates that the 2026 Blue Devils' roster cost between $12 million and $15 million, placing them behind only the Boston College, whose roster cost between $8 million and $13 million.
This stands in stark contrast to the Miami Hurricanes, who are the conference favorites this season and are paying their roster between $44 million and $50 million. Miami's success may be attributed to the recent acquisition of quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate from the Durham, North Carolina-based Blue Devils.
This trend of lower compensation is expected to persist when it comes time for the Blue Devils to re-sign key players, such as running back Nate Sheppard, who is expected to have numerous offers during his junior year. The ACC roster rankings, based on NIL valuation, show Miami at the top with $44-50 million, followed closely by Clemson ($29-32 million), Virginia Tech ($25-30 million), Florida State ($23-30 million), Georgia Tech ($23-26 million), and NC State ($22-26 million).
The remaining teams, including Louisville, SMU, North Carolina, Virginia, and Cal, have NIL valuations ranging from $20-24 million. Duke, with a roster valued at $12-15 million, sits at the bottom of this list, followed by Boston College, whose roster is valued between $8-13 million.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
