How much does Illinois pay players (revenue share / NIL budget)?
The House revenue-share cap is $20.5M in 2025–26 and $21.58M ($21,583,913) in 2026–27. Illinois hasn't released how much of that it has actually paid out.
College athletics money, from public records
Public Cap
What can your team actually afford?
Power 4 football · revenue sharing · what they can spend · NIL on file.
Illinois
Updated October 16, 2026
Where does your school rank? Illinois ranks #16 of 68 in annual capacity.
Common questions
Illinois: NIL budget, collective payout, football revenue, and head coach salary.
How much does Illinois football make and spend?
FY2025 football revenue for Illinois is $87,939,659. FY2025 football spending for Illinois is $48,001,399. Revenue is what the program brought in. Spending is what it paid out. They are not added together.
What does Illinois pay its coach, and what's the buyout?
Bret Bielema's pay at Illinois is $7,700,000 as of May 22, 2025. The buyout is $49,491,667 as of December 1, 2025. Source: USA TODAY coaches salary database, buyout as of Dec. 1, 2025.