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Blog · Oct. 24, 2026

Colorado spent the full $20.5 million House cap in 2025-26, records show

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Colorado has a public number for the first year of revenue sharing, and a second number for the year that just started. Both came from a records request. The university says it spent to the cap.

On Oct. 22, 2026, the University of Colorado CORA Compliance Team answered Colorado Open Records Act request Req No. 757 from Brett Bryant of The Public Cap. The letter says: "For FY 25-26 we spent to the cap that was stipulated by the House Settlement: $20.5M." It also says: "For FY 26-27 to date (July, Aug, Sept) we have spent: $11,399,150.49." Then: "This completes your request."

That is the same citation already on our Colorado NIL and player-pay page. The letter is not posted on a public web page. No payment count was given.

By the numbers

  • $20.5 million: what Colorado says it spent in FY 2025-26, "spent to the cap" (CU Boulder CORA response, Oct. 22, 2026)
  • $11,399,150.49: FY 2026-27 to date, July through September 2026 (same letter)
  • $21,583,913: House cap for 2026-27 (Winston Taylor). The three-month total is 52.8% of that cap.
  • $7,672,052.88: 262 payments from July 1 to September 30, 2025 (Sportico, Daniel Libit, Nov. 6, 2025). The 2026 quarter is $3,727,097.61 more. That is 48.6% above the 2025 window.
  • C: Colorado's financial health grade

Spent to the cap

$20.5 million is what Colorado says it spent in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The letter calls that amount "the cap that was stipulated by the House Settlement." Participating schools can share up to $20.5 million with athletes in 2025-26 (NCAA House settlement Q&A). Colorado says it spent that full amount.

The letter does not say what the total includes beyond "spent to the cap." No athlete is named. No sport is split out. The number covers the university as a whole.

The first three months of 2026-27

$11,399,150.49 is what Colorado says it has spent in FY 2026-27 through July, August, and September 2026. The cap for that year is $21,583,913, set after the first audit of Power conference revenue (Winston Taylor). $11,399,150.49 divided by that cap is 52.8%. Our methods page explains how the two caps are built.

Payment timing can be front-loaded. A school can pay a large share of the cap in the first quarter and a smaller share later. This quarter is not a full-year pace projection.

Sportico reported that Colorado made 262 payments totaling $7,672,052.88 from July 1 to September 30, 2025 (Sportico, Daniel Libit, Nov. 6, 2025). Subtract that from $11,399,150.49 and the 2026 quarter is $3,727,097.61 higher. That difference is 48.6% of the 2025 window. The new letter does not give a payment count, so the comparison is dollars only. The 2025 payments are part of the year Colorado now says it spent to the cap. They are not added on top of the $20.5 million.

Not the same kind of number as Clemson

Clemson's records reply reported $17,638,205 in revenue-share funds for 2025-26. That amount does not include deductions for added scholarships and then-existing Alston commitments (Clemson's year-one total). Colorado's reply does not say what "spent to the cap" includes. The two are not perfectly like-for-like.

Compare Colorado and Clemson puts the rest of the two departments side by side. Reported NIL lists the booked revenue-share cells.

The rest of the department

The revenue-share line is one check in a much larger department. In FY2025, the fiscal year before this cap year, Colorado athletics reported $161,672,258 in operating revenue and $161,512,070 in operating expenses (Colorado Boulder FY2025 NCAA agreed-upon procedures).

That same year the university and government put $41,778,735 into athletics (Knight-Newhouse). Support from FY2025 is larger than the $20.5 million Colorado says it spent in the year that followed.

Football revenue was $69,306,235 in FY2025 (EADA). The $20.5 million revenue-share total is smaller than that football revenue.

Deion Sanders's 2026 pay on the amended employment agreement is $10,000,000 (CU Board of Regents). The 2025-26 revenue-share total is larger than the head coach's listed pay. The July-September 2026 total is larger than that pay as well.

On this site, Colorado's financial health grade is a C.

More on this site: the cited totals on the Colorado NIL and player-pay page, the rest of the department on the Colorado school page, the cap explanation in methods, Sanders's contract on the Colorado buyout page, and compare to set Colorado next to Clemson.

Takeaway: A CU Boulder records reply dated Oct. 22, 2026 says the university spent to the $20.5 million House cap in FY 2025-26. In July, August, and September 2026 it has spent $11,399,150.49, which is 52.8% of the $21,583,913 cap for 2026-27. That quarter is $3,727,097.61, or 48.6%, above the $7,672,052.88 Sportico reported for July-September 2025. Payment timing can be front-loaded, so the quarter is not a full-year pace projection.

Sources

  1. University of Colorado (CU Boulder) CORA Compliance Team response to Colorado Open Records Act request Req No. 757, dated Oct 22, 2026, to Brett Bryant / The Public Cap.
  2. NCAA, House settlement Q&A (2025-26 benefits cap): https://on.ncaa.com/QA61325
  3. Winston Taylor, 'Class counsel, NCAA and Power Five conferences announce $44M in additional compensation and benefits following first audit' (2026-27 cap): https://www.winstontaylor.com/insights/class-counsel-ncaa-and-power-five-conferences-announce-usd44m-in-additional-compensation-and-benefits-following-first-audit
  4. Sportico (Daniel Libit, Nov. 6, 2025) — first three months of House revenue share: https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2025/college-athlete-pay-public-records-hide-1234875974/
  5. Colorado Boulder FY2025 NCAA agreed-upon procedures (Colorado OSA) — total operating revenues $161,672,258 and total operating expenses $161,512,070: https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/audits/2505F-B_university_of_colorado_boulder_ncaa_aup_fy25.pdf
  6. Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database — FY2025 NCAA MFRS institutional/government support (lines 2+4+6+6A combined): https://knightnewhousedata.org/fbs/big-12/university-colorado-boulder
  7. EADA 2024–25 — men’s football team revenues (REV_MEN_Football): https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/datafile/list
  8. CU Board of Regents — Sanders amended employment agreement (Mar. 28, 2025): https://cu.community.diligentoneplatform.com/document/f62f1797-c88f-4707-bf61-73fa39f1059a/

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