re: Class of 2017 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: Say Your Goodbyes Edition

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5-star recruits are worth HOW MUCH to programs?!

A few weeks back, Business Insider put out a study that showed what the average football player is worth to that college program. According to that study, the average Alabama football player is worth $536,485, which was second to Texas’ average player’s worth at $671,173.

So just how much are 5-star recruits worth to programs?

According to a Journal of Sports Economics study titled “The Effect of Recruit Quality on College Football Team Performance,” 5-stars are “worth more than $150,000 in expected BCS bowl proceeds to an individual school.”

That might seem high considering recruits have not played a down, but that’s not even the craziest part.

The authors of the study believe the dollar figure they came up with might be too low when you factor in the increased television revenue schools receive.

“Our research suggests some of these five-star recruits could be worth more than $500,000 a year to a program,” Steve Bergman, who is one of the authors, told SB Nation’s Bud Elliot.

If that’s the case, that means Alabama, with its four 5-star commitments, would have $2 million of value wrapped up in those players. There’s only one way to put that: insanity. There’s a less likely chance for 5-star prospects to flame out than those ranked lower, but the $500,000 valuation of these recruits is also crazy to think about when you realize that only three programs — Texas, Alabama and Tennessee — have their average player worth more than $500K, and again, these recruits haven’t played yet.

Now you can understand why it’s a big deal for the future of programs to bring in the highest-rated recruits they possibly can sign because it equals a greater chance at winning championships — which then leads to more money for the schools.

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