Michigan football spent shocking amount on recruiting in 2022

When you think of the nation’s top spenders in college football, you likely think of schools like Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia; perhaps even Texas A&M as of late. Yet, among these recruiting giants is a familiar face for Michigan football fans: Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines. In 2022, the Michigan Wolverines spend more than nearly anyone in the sport — only five teams spent more.

Michigan football spends 6th-most on recruiting in 2022

According to documents obtained by the USA Today Network, the Georgia Bulldogs spent more than anyone when it came to recruiting in 2022. The Bulldogs spent an incredible $4.5M — more than $1.5M more than the next-highest program.

Behind the reigning National Champions was Texas A&M ($2.98M), Tennessee ($2.92M), Texas ($2.44M), and Alabama ($2.32M). As you can see, the SEC (and future SEC teams) are shelling out cash in hopes of landing the nation’s top talent; and frankly, they are doing exactly that. Even Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies have been recruiting well as of late despite never winning anything remotely important.

Behind these five programs is Michigan football, who spent the 6th-most nationally and more than anyone in the Big Ten on recruiting last year ($2.24M).

Despite spending, Wolverines need recruiting boost

Despite spending more than anyone in the Big Ten, Michigan football only managed to ink the 18th-ranked class nationally and 3rd-ranked class in the Big Ten. The Wolverines did not sign a single five-star prospect in the 2023 class, and felt limited due to other outside factors such as NIL, Harbaugh-NFL rumors, the firing of Matt Wiess, and more.

There’s hope for Michigan football’s future classes

While it is important to acknowledge that the 2023 class was disappointing given that Michigan football had just won back-to-back Big Ten titles and more, it is equally important to see how good the Wolverines’ 2024 class is. Just months after finalizing its 2023 class, Michigan football is already trending for some of the nation’s top talent. Additionally, the Wolverines have a good core group in place with a class that currently ranks in the top-5 according to 247.

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