Roster economics have become a much bigger part of the conversation around college football in recent seasons.

Since the House settlement in the summer of 2024, roster spending has exploded across the sport. To be among the best teams in the country, you now have to spend like it.

Even a program as successful as Georgia is not immune to that. The Bulldogs made an effort to retain many of their top players on their current team, chiefly quarterback Gunner Stockton, running back Nate Frazier and safety KJ Bolden.

That has driven up the price of Georgia’s roster, as John Talty and Chris Hummer of CBS Sports shared that Georgia’s roster comes in at near, but not over, $40 million.

That places Georgia in a second tier of teams, as Talty and Hummer shared that Miami, Notre Dame, LSU, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas A&M have all cleared the $40 million threshold.

Hummer and Talty spoke to a mix of Power Four athletic directors, general managers, personnel executives, salary cap experts, agents and boosters for their findings.

As it pertains to Georgia, the duo identified Gunner Stockton as Georgia’s big price tag player. Stockton returns as the team’s starting quarterback and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting.

“Georgia isn’t as flashy or outward in its spending as some others, but college football’s most recent back-to-back champions have adapted to the new era with a roster in the upper-$30-million range,” Talty and Hummer wrote. “Most of that money is allocated via high school, where the Bulldogs have signed four straight top-seven classes.”

It was noted though that Georgia does not seem to spend top dollar when it comes to certain NIL-related battles. Georgia’s current recruiting class may reflect that, as the Bulldogs rank ninth per the 247Sports Composite rankings. If that holds, it would be the lowest-ranked recruiting class of Kirby Smart’s tenure.

Smart has spoken ad nauseam about roster spending this offseason, especially around SEC media days.

Smart and Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks have maintained the Bulldogs are more than capable of spending at an elite level and that money is not an issue.

“That’s probably more a wrestling of that, more in-house for us, philosophically how we want our roster to look, how we want our money to be spread across,” Smart said at SEC media days. “I don’t think it’s — I mean, high school players nowadays aren’t any cheaper than portal players, so there’s an expense for both, especially good players. But we put our money where we think it’s best and put the best product we can on the field.”

Even if Georgia isn’t in the top tier of spending, many still see the Bulldogs among the best in the sport. Georgia was predicted to win the SEC this season and voted No. 3 in the Preseason Coaches Poll.

It is interesting to note that Georgia does not face any of the SEC teams spending north of $40 million on their respective rosters. Other SEC teams in the same tier as Georgia include Tennessee and Ole Miss. Georgia visits the Rebels on Nov. 7 this season.

Georgia opens the season against Tennessee State on Sept. 5.