Mike Elko Shares A Scary Message On the State of College Football

When it came his turn to step up to the podium on the first day of SEC spring meetings, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko used his time wisely.

Multiple college football head coaches, especially within the SEC, have spent some time discussing the impending economic dilemmas that college football is facing without proper NCAA regulations. As these coaches face the twists and turns that each season within the NIL era brings, it’s obvious to several that some kind of management needs to be put in place in order to keep the college football world spinning.

Elko seems incredibly aware of that — and incredibly self-aware of the benefits that he faces at Texas A&M compared to smaller schools that may not receive as much donor revenue. He made all of it clear on the podium on Tuesday.

“Not Profitable Without The University” — Elko Makes Public Call For Market Regulation

In the current climate of college football, there are few things more important than having a deep-pocketed NIL budget in order to recruit and retain the players that will make an impact on the field.

Elko, however, brought the reality of that statement to light on the first day of SEC spring meetings, telling On3’s Pete Nakos during the press conference that Texas A&M is just a couple of years away from possessing an NIL budget that surpasses the university’s television revenue.

“If we don’t find a way to create some level of regulation in the market, a lot of people are going to go bankrupt pretty quick,” Elko said. “We’re two and a half years away from having an NIL budget that’s greater than the TV revenue for our entire university.”

Elko emphasized the importance of governance within the college football market, although he didn’t name-call the NCAA in particular this time. However, with few rules and lots of changes making the college football landscape look more like the Wild West, there’s an impending need for the NCAA to step in and make some of those governing choices that create precedents and regulations.

Mike Elko on the economics of college football: pic.twitter.com/D7wFkPY9v9

— TexAgs (@TexAgs) May 26, 2026

Elko also spoke on the weight that the university in particular has on the team, emphasizing the importance of the alumni and fan bases that support the football program through ticket sales, attendance, and merchandise purchases.

“College football has become very profitable, and certainly the players deserve a big piece of that,” Elko said. “Unlike professional sports, though, it’s not profitable without the university. I don’t think Texas A&M football is as profitable as it is without the alumni base of Texas A&M University that shows up at games, that supports it, that buys merchandise.”

To Elko, this creates a symbiotic relationship that has an impact that is crucial to the success of a program, yet is still extremely overlooked. As the NIL era molds college football teams closer to the likes of professional teams, the relationship between the university and the program is forgotten, yet critical — especially as it prevents college football teams from fully delving into their own business schemes.

“So it’s a little bit of a unique give-and-take in that regard, because we can’t go all-in to the business side of college football at the expense of the university, because if the university isn’t there, college football isn’t there,” Elko said.

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