Welcome to the Skull Session.
Mentally, Ohio State is here:
Mentally, Were Here pic.twitter.com/GerQcvz95E
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) June 28, 2025
Yeah, I am there, too.
Have a good Monday.
$20 MILLION → $35 MILLION. The college football world heard Ohio State paid $20 million for its 2024 roster and lost their minds. “But just a few months on, that $20 million figure is notable for a very different reason,” The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Bachman wrote this past weekend. “These days, it would be regarded as downright cheap.”
She continued, “The Buckeyes will be making closer to $35 million – and they won’t be alone.” According to one of Bachman’s sources, payrolls at the highest-paying college football programs nationwide will be between $30 million and $35 million. (Money, money, money, money… money!)
NEW: Top football squads like Ohio State will be paid up to $35 million next season.
— Rachel Bachman (@Bachscore) June 29, 2025
But the amounts that star athletes are pulling in could soon crash back to earth. Heres why:https://t.co/8zT5kmBbDf
The programs’ jump in payrolls happened for three reasons, according to Bachman. First, new rules have kicked in that aim to curtail the role of booster collectives (see: NIL Go). Second, before the House settlement passed, “there was a last-minute scramble to steer a final burst of booster money to athletes.”
“We know a lot of people front-loaded,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told Bachman. “We were not unique to that.”
And the third reason?
Revenue sharing.
Ohio State isn’t unique to that, either. Well, in some ways it is. With revenue sharing around the corner, Bjork has maintained that Ohio State will fund and keep all 36 varsity sports, and you all know how much that means to someone like me!
“HE’S TWO FOR TWO.” Peyton Manning wants armchair quarterbacks to back off C.J. Stroud.
In an appearance at Fanatics Fest in New York, the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback pointed out that Stroud has led the Houston Texans to the NFL playoffs twice, including wins in the AFC wild card round in both seasons.
“Let’s be careful saying it was a down year,” Manning said. “I didn’t win a playoff game ‘til my sixth year. He’s two for two.”
Before Houston selected Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, the Texans had last made the postseason in 2019. Their head coach was onetime Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, their running back was Carlos Hyde – also known as El Guapo – and two of their cornerbacks were Bradley Roby and Gareon Conley.
Stroud collected 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2023. He took a minor step back in 2024, collecting 3,727 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
“I’M WHERE I NEED TO BE.” An All-American at Ohio State in 2019, J.K. Dobbins became the No. 55 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, landing with the Baltimore Ravens. Following a solid rookie season in Charm City, Dobbins spent most of the next three years on IR because of a torn ACL (2021) and a torn Achilles (2023). Hoping for a fresh start with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, Dobbins flashed but still missed some time, suffering an MCL sprain late in the season.
Now entering his sixth NFL season this fall, Dobbins is ready for another fresh start in Denver. He signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the franchise on June 10.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton was – in ESPN writer Jeff Legwold’s words – “reluctant to lean on Denver’s somewhat disjointed rushing attack last season,” so he tinkered with the roster. The Broncos’ leading rusher, Javonte Williams, left for the Dallas Cowboys, but the team returned Jaleel McLaughlin, Audric Estime and Blake Watson. It then selected UCF’s RJ Harvey with the No. 60 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Payton seems — in my words — most excited about Dobbins.
@Jkdobbins22 x #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/C2lSWTFnQ5
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) June 11, 2025
“When you see his consistency, it’s not an accident,” Payton told Legwold. “It’s another good football player we’re adding to our team. Then we’ll see how training camp goes, see how all the carries go.”
Dobbins is the frontrunner to be RB1 because of his pass blocking and “intelligence on third down,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told reporters at minicamp. However, no matter where Dobbins lands on the depth chart, he looks forward to contributing where he can, both on and off the field.
“I feel like I’m where I need to be,” Dobbins told Legwold. “I know this room is also young. I want to … help them grow as NFL players, because it can be tough.”
No one knows that better than Dobbins, so I have complete confidence that he will be an excellent mentor.
OLYMPIC VILLAGE. My favorite moment of the weekend came on a football field – but not the one we tend to think of around these parts.
The United States Women’s National Team defeated Ireland, 4-0, at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday. One of America’s four goals came from Izzy Rodriguez, a four-time All-Big Ten Honoree and one-time Big Ten Defender of the Year across five seasons at Ohio State from 2017-21. Rodriguez scored the goal in her international debut!
Izzy puts one home in her first cap!!!!#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/WzZy6jEtNu
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 29, 2025
Oh, and I almost forgot, former Ohio State forward Emma Sears also had an assist in the contest! What a game for the Buckeyes!
SONG OF THE DAY. "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison.
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