Here's an interesting thought experiment. Once you learn how much Georgia spent on recruiting in the 2022 fiscal year, ask yourself how much higher the number would have to go before the Bulldogs athletics department flinched. How many multiples before they decide to maybe reign it back in a little bit? Is it 2x the number? 3x? 4?
According to a report released Wednesday from USA Today, the 2-time defending national champions spent $4.5 million in recruiting during the 12 months covering the fiscal year. That broke their own previous record, and stood at $1.52 million (more than 33 percent) above second-place Texas A&M.
Georgia has not finished lower than fourth in the 247Sports composite recruiting rankings since Kirby Smart's first full class in 2017. The Bulldogs won mythical recruiting national championships in 2018 and 2020, while winning two on the field and playing for a third.
In the period covered by Wednesday's report, Georgia put the finishing touches on a 2022 class that rated third in the nation, a 30-man haul that included five 5-stars and 17 4-stars, and did the lion's share of the work on a 2023 class that ranked second in the nation, a 26-man group that again boasted five 5-stars and 17 4-stars. As of this writing, Georgia's 2024 class leads the nation; its 10 commits include two 5-stars and seven 4-stars.
The report, derived from figures from the Knight-Newhouse Data project at Syracuse University, does not even include all the money schools spend on recruiting. (And no, I'm not talking about money paid to players via NIL, the Name, Image and Likeness kind nor the Now It's Legal kind.) The $4.5 million figure just accounts for money schools spent brining recruits to campus or putting coaches on the road, as well as all the associated costs therein. Mainly: it does not include the money schools spend employing recruiting staffers.
From USA Today:
The recruiting expense totals in the latest NCAA reports cover transportation, lodging and meals for recruits and school personnel on official and unofficial visits for a period that, for most schools, covered July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. It also accounts for phone charges and postage for pursuing recruits and the value of school’s vehicles and planes or those used by the school for recruiting.
Even still, it's easy to see how the number can climb into the multi-millions. For instance, in June, Texas spent nearly $280,000 on the official visit weekend that included Arch Manning, according to a report published by The Athletic.
Speaking of the Longhorns, they finished fourth in recruiting spending for Fiscal Year 2022:
1. Georgia -- $4.5 million
2. Texas A&M -- $2.98 million
3. Tennessee -- $2.92 million
4. Texas -- $2.44 million
5. Alabama -- $2.32 million
While Texas A&M has yet to see the investment in its record-setting 2022 class pay off, one thinks that Georgia could have spent twice the amount and still be totally satisfied with its ROI on the field.