Georgia's Smart fears massive football budgets will imperil other sports

May 26, 2026 - 21:01

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart added his voice to a growing chorus of concern at the SEC's annual spring meetings this week, warning that skyrocketing football budgets driven by revenue sharing and NIL deals may eventually threaten the survival of other sports.

Smart, whose program has been a national powerhouse, said the current financial trajectory is unsustainable. He argued that as schools pour more money into football to stay competitive, the resources left for Olympic and non-revenue sports shrink to dangerous levels. "If we keep going this way, we are going to put every other sport at risk," Smart told reporters. "We have to be careful that we don't let football's success eat everything else."

The comments come as SEC athletic directors and coaches grapple with the fallout from the House v. NCAA settlement, which could allow schools to directly pay athletes. Smart noted that while football generates the bulk of revenue, the pressure to spend on facilities, coaching salaries, and player compensation is creating a widening gap. He pointed to sports like swimming, track, and gymnastics, which often operate on thin margins and depend on football money to survive.

Smart's warning echoes similar sentiments from other SEC coaches who worry that the arms race in football spending will eventually force schools to cut less profitable programs. For now, the league is exploring ways to cap or regulate spending, but no clear solution has emerged.