Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has brought back the curtains of Nir philosophy in a wide range of interviews about Colt McCoy’s Clean Pocket Podcasts. In doing so, he delivered a masterclass on how one of the most powerful programs in college football navigates the rapidly evolving financial frontiers of the sport.
“I think Nir is a good thing for the University of Texas,” Sarkisian said. “Nil may have been there for a long time. When they regulated it, not at the University of Texas… we sat at the table and competed at that level for some of the high-level players. That was good for us.”
That’s a quote to talk about. Texas was not based on backroom deals or quiet cash drops. Their rise in the NIL era was strategic, transparent and relentlessly efficient. Texas thrives with top-rank recruiting classes, college football playoff appearances and the breasts of the Nil Wars barely matched, but not over-expanding.
Sarkisian made one thing clear and clear. Texas does not engage in a bid war.
“We let him go when we thought a man was too expensive,” he said. “We see the value of the player on our roster where he might sit, and we put the numbers in it, and that’s what it is.”
If the hat sounds like the NFL front office, that’s because. Sarkisian’s stint as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator gave him a solid grasp of the logic of the pay cap and the economics of the roster. Now, that idea is embedded in every aspect of Texas football, from portal assessments to freshman predictions to zero negotiations.
Texas boasts top-notch talent. Arch Manning will lead with an estimate of $6.5 million per 3 ON3 and a national contract with Red Bull. Edge Rusher Colin Simmons will check in at Shaun Alexander National Frishman of the Year, about $1.5 million. But even with a lot of money, Sarkisian is clear. Culture promotes compensation.
“Don’t sacrifice your character for talent,” he told McCoy. “There are a lot of talented players, but if you believe in the culture, you need to check the characters too.”
This balance of financial strength and internal discipline separates Texas. Other programs chase and scramble to respond, but the longhorn is intentionally built. They created infrastructure as a competitive advantage, set values, and accepted NIL.
If revenue sharing becomes more formal than Texas later this year, there are few better programs in place. Sarkisian has not only adapted to the new reality of sports. He was expecting them. And in doing so, he positioned the Longhorns as a blueprint for what college football looks like when tradition meets the business of victory.
