Five-star quarterbacks, such as Texas-bound Dia Bell, typically receive between $750,000 and $1 million annually. Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida
When the early signing period begins on Wednesday for the Class of 2026 high school recruits, many of those players will be signing two documents.
All signees ink a financial aid agreement -- basically, scholarship papers -- that formalizes their commitment to their chosen school. That replaced the old national letter of intent, the decades-old form that was eliminated last year.
The second document, signed by most Power 4 recruits and some Group of 5 prospects, will be a revenue-sharing contract that lays out the terms of their compensation, now that schools can pay players directly, a result of the House v. NCAA settlement. These are different from third-party name, image and likeness (NIL) deals that were previously the primary method of compensating players since 2021. The contracts recruits will be signing, by and large, are rev-share agreements for the school to pay them directly.
What do the recruits get paid? Contract totals can be murky because schools typically keep those private for competitive reasons. To clear up the picture, The Athletic surveyed industry experts, including general managers, personnel staffers and agents, to get a sense for what a typical recruit gets. All subjects were granted anonymity for their candor.
Here's what we learned.
Pay ranges can fluctuate significantly based on multiple factors. Recruiting rankings play a significant role in what a prospect can command. Five-star recruits, predictably, get paid more than three-stars. And prospects who are closer to playing as true freshmen often get more than those who are further away from seeing legitimate snaps.
Multi-year contracts for high school prospects are relatively rare -- an agent estimated that just 5 percent of high school recruits sign multi-year deals -- and quarterbacks and offensive linemen are the most frequent recipients of them.
"We see more two-year deals for O-linemen because it's understood that you're going to have to develop physically in Year 1," the agent said.
One Power 4 general manager has a rule of thumb: Whatever a top-tier starter gets in the transfer portal, the high school recruit version of that player should cost about half as much.
Similar to their college and pro counterparts, Power 4 quarterback recruits are often the highest-paid among their peers.
The baseline rate for a Power 4 QB signee starts between roughly $100,000 to $300,000, according to a P4 personnel staffer, but that number rises the higher the recruit is ranked. Five-star quarterbacks typically get between $750,000 and $1 million annually, according to three industry sources.
Some QB recruits can get even more. Michigan freshman Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, got a multi-year deal that will pay him upwards of $10 million, but that's an outlier, the agent said, in part because Underwood was at the very top of his class and widely expected to be the Day 1 starter.
If a quarterback isn't going to start in Year 1, it can impact the first-year compensation. The agent said one 2026 QB who ranks in the top 150 nationally is receiving between $300,000 and $400,000 in his first year since he's not expected to start immediately at his committed school.
Offensive and defensive linemen also attract big offers. Again, it can be a sliding scale depending on how developed their bodies are.
"If you're talking about a developmental player it could be $100,000 to $400,000-$500,000 (for offensive linemen)," the Power 4 personnel staffer said. Defensive linemen are "similar to the O-linemen, but a little less for edge rushers than you'd think."
Again, five-star prospects receive higher compensation. Miami offensive tackle commit Jackson Cantwell, the No. 1 player at his position, is expected to receive more than $2 million in 2026, according to On3. Texas Tech this summer landed a commitment from Felix Ojo, the No. 2 offensive tackle in the country, with a three-year deal that will pay him $775,000 annually, a school source told The Athletic.
Upper six-figure to seven-figure offers aren't unusual for five-star linemen.
"Seven-hundred (thousand), that's the number for a premium tackle," a Power 4 personnel director said. But, he said, you can still find good ones for half as much if you're a keen evaluator.
"It's like the NFL Draft," a second agent said. "Quarterbacks, offensive tackles, defensive linemen and edge rushers are a premium."
Because receivers can contribute quickly, they are typically at the top of the next compensation tier and can often command something much closer to college starter money.
"We have receivers as freshmen who are making $300,000 to $400,000 because you can play right away at a much higher clip than offensive linemen," the first agent said. "You're paid closer to the starting market at receiver because teams are more confident that they can play you right away."
But a receiver who is not an immediate contributor may be in the high five-figure or low six-figure range.
Cornerbacks are on a similar scale to receivers, with their compensation often depending on how college-ready they are upon arrival.
Running backs, tight ends and safeties fall into the third tier of compensation. The range for those positions starts around the mid-to-high five figures and goes up to the low six figures, around $200,000. As with other positions, elite players who are at the very top of their position can be outliers and command much more.
USC tight end commit Mark Bowman, the No. 3 tight end in the class in the 247Sports Composite, is believed to be receiving a multi-year deal worth above seven figures annually, according to On3. Running backs are following the NFL trend in terms of valuation, the Power 4 personnel staffer said, but "the elite of the elite can get more" than low six figures.
"The reality is any school is gonna pay any amount of money that they deem worth it," the second agent said. "If a school deems a guard worth $750K, they'll pay it."
A Power 4 assistant coach said that, in theory, he doesn't think every high school recruit warrants extra compensation outside their scholarship. Hitting on more than half of a recruiting class is difficult because projecting what type of player a teenager will become can be a crapshoot.
But in the age of NIL and revenue sharing, most Power 4 recruits expect to get something.
"Everyone knows everyone else is getting paid so they want a little piece," a Power 4 personnel director said. "Now not everyone's six figures, but everyone's getting something."
But some recruits come for "free," as GMs term it -- meaning they receive only a scholarship and no additional NIL or rev-share money. A Power 4 GM who has a roster budget of over $20 million said this summer that he had three scholarship recruits coming to his school for free. A second P4 personnel director said his incoming signing class also has a few free players.
This is more common at non-blue-blood P4 programs that aren't flush with resources.
Most Power 4 athletic departments are operating at or near the revenue-sharing cap of $20.5 million, with 65-75 percent of that being allocated to the football roster. However, there are no Group of 5 programs close to the cap. Power 4 football roster budgets are usually between $13 and $15 million, with some top spenders reaching above $25 million. Most G5 roster budgets in 2025 ranged between $1 million and $10 million, though the majority were below $5 million.
That means recruits who sign with G5 schools are typically receiving annual compensation in the five-figure range, if they're getting paid at all. Some of the top G5 recruits get in the upper five figures. The first agent said a deal for $3,000 a month for a G5 recruit isn't uncommon.
But with limited resources, those schools look to spend most of their money on retaining their current roster and on the portal.
"Unless you're a QB or special kid, I don't think you're gonna give kids six figures (out of high school)," a Group of 5 general manager said. "It's such a gamble with high school kids. There's just so many things you can't account for when they make the transition to college. ... We'll pay you more if you come in and earn it."
"It takes a really special player for us to offer money out of high school," the second GM said. "The more free players that you can get, the better."
Portal spending grabs the headlines because much more money is spent there. "You're paying for snaps," the Power 4 GM said. Proven players cost more.
But all agree that landing quality high school recruits is still the lifeblood of a program, even if it costs more than they'd prefer.
"You feel better paying a college kid who you've seen play and has snaps and starts and all that stuff than you do a high school kid," a second Power 4 personnel director said. "But the high school kid you almost have to pay a recruitment fee because there's all these other schools bidding on them.
"But you have to get them on your roster and if you don't pay them, you won't get them. Then when you pay them, sometimes they're going to make more than guys who are already on your two-deep. So that balance is tough."
But hitting on high school recruits costs less than consistently building a team from the portal. Retaining players is more cost-effective than signing free agents because homegrown recruits are often already comfortable at the school and have bought into their coaches, program and schemes and can sometimes be willing to take less to stay.
"It's like the NFL Draft," the first personnel director said. "No one wants to live in free agency. You want to live in the draft, build your core there and supplement it with positions that are needs (in the portal)."
But if a bidding war ensues, it takes what it takes, he said.
"The market is what the highest person is willing to pay."