Geaux Tiger$

LSU Athletics spent an estimated $47 million to $50 million on football players this season, the fourth-highest payroll in college football, according to a New York Times analysis.

Why it matters: College football is the money generator for many athletic departments. It also brings attention—good and bad—to universities and their communities while generating billions of dollars for local economies.

The methodology: The Times asked the athletic departments of top programs how much they spent on players. Many provided a range. Reporters used independent sources to verify those figures and estimate spending for programs that declined to provide a number.

The details:

• Ohio State spent the most, between $49 million and $54 million.
• Second was Oregon ($48m-$54m), followed by Texas ($45m-$55m), LSU ($47m-$50m) and Texas A&M ($45m-$50m).
• Other SEC programs near the top were No. 8 Ole Miss ($39m-$45m), No. 9 Tennessee ($41m-$43m) and No. 10 Alabama ($38m-$42m).
• Arkansas had the SEC’s lowest payroll at $22m to $25m, ranking just below Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
• Boston College ranked last overall ($8-$13m).
• Eleven of the top 20 spenders are in the SEC. Six are in the Big Ten, including newcomers Oregon and USC.

The bottom line: It’s early, but the biggest spenders are also among the teams near the top of the Associated Press poll. The prevailing theory is simple: Spend the most, get the best team. Now that we have estimated payroll figures, we can see how well that theory holds up at the end of the season.