College football’s always been about dynasties and dominant programs. But heading into 2025, something’s shifting—parity is creeping in, and the gap between the elites and everyone else is shrinking fast.
This change? It’s coming from all sides: revenue sharing, the transfer portal, and the whole new world of player compensation. Let’s look at the numbers and stories that show how parity is taking root in college football—and maybe, just maybe, changing the game for good.
The Changing Landscape of College Football
College football has seen some wild changes lately. Revenue sharing and the transfer portal have totally changed how talent spreads out.
Schools are now paying players openly, and athletes can transfer as much as they want. Suddenly, the playing field feels a lot more even, and more teams have a shot at the big time.
Revenue Sharing and NIL Impact
With revenue sharing and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, college football feels almost unrecognizable. Schools can offer real financial incentives, pulling in top recruits who might’ve just gone to the usual powerhouses before.
Check out how five-star recruits are spreading out, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings:
- 2026: 19 five-star recruits
- 2025: 16 five-star recruits
- 2018: 10 five-star recruits
- 2017: 13 five-star recruits
With more money on the table, recruits have choices. It’s not a lock that the best kids end up at Alabama or Ohio State anymore. Tennessee and Nebraska? They’re in the mix now too.
The Transfer Portal Revolution
The transfer portal’s changed everything. Players can move around way more freely, and teams can patch up weaknesses almost overnight.
Here’s what the numbers from 2025 show:
- 66.7% of returning first-team all-conference players from the Group of Five entered the portal during winter.
- Zero returning Power Four first-team all-conference players did the same.
That kind of movement has pumped up mid-tier programs, giving them real depth. Teams like Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, and Nebraska are suddenly a lot harder to ignore.
Advanced Analytics and the Closing Gap
Analytics tell the same story—parity is real. The SP+ ratings from ESPN’s Bill Connelly measure team efficiency and predict success. Comparing 2017 to 2025, the shift is clear:
SP+ Ratings Comparison
Back in 2017, the gap between the top team (Ohio State) and No. 25 (LSU) was 17.6 points. In 2025, that same gap stretches all the way to the No. 40 team (Virginia).
- 2017: No. 2 Alabama (27.6) vs. No. 25 LSU (11.2) — 16.4 points apart.
- 2025: No. 2 Oregon (25.1) vs. No. 25 Iowa (15.6) — just 9.5 points.
It’s wild—power’s getting spread out. The field feels more open than it has in ages.
Team Talent Composite
The 247Sports Team Talent Composite, which ranks rosters by recruit ratings, backs this up too. In 2017, only 16 teams had 800+ points. By 2025? That’s up to 22 teams.
The difference between the No. 1 and No. 25 teams has dropped, too:
- 2017: 299.57 points
- 2025: 236.31 points
More teams are in the hunt, and that’s making things a lot more interesting every Saturday.
The SEC: A Microcosm of Parity
The SEC is basically a snapshot of how much things have changed. In 2017, only three SEC teams cracked the top 20 SP+ rankings halfway through the year. Fast forward to 2025, and that number jumps to ten.
Average scoring margins in SEC games tell the story, too:
- 2025: 10.7 points
- 2017: 20.9 points
Games are tighter, and honestly, they’re just more fun to watch.
The Impact of Player Movement
Player movement inside the SEC is shaking things up as well. Schools like Ole Miss and LSU, not exactly recruiting juggernauts, have loaded up through the portal.
Think about Damon Wilson—he left Georgia for Missouri and ended up the SEC’s best edge defender. Moves like that are changing the pecking order, sometimes overnight.
The Future of College Football
Where’s this all headed? Hard to say for sure, but it feels like parity’s here to stay. Revenue sharing, NIL, and the transfer portal have made things unpredictable and, honestly, a lot more exciting.
Yeah, Ohio State and Alabama will still be around. But the road to a championship is rougher—and way less predictable—than it used to be.
The 12-Team Playoff
The 12-team playoff has really shaken things up, opening the door for more teams to chase a national title. In its first season, not a single one of the top four seeds made the semifinals.
Instead, the title game gave us a wild matchup: No. 7 Notre Dame versus No. 8 Ohio State. This kind of unpredictability is exactly what keeps fans glued to the screen—nobody can say for sure who’s going to end up on top.
For more details and some deeper analysis, you might want to check out the original article on CBS Sports.
- Schools Covered
- College Football Articles
- Men's College Basketball Articles
- Men's College Soccer Articles
- Women's College Basketball Articles
- Olympic Athlete Articles
- Men's College Baseball Articles
- College Sports Media Professionals Articles
- Hall of Fame Member Articles
- Former College Player Articles
- Game Previews
