When Florida Football officially announced they were bringing back Billy Napier for the 2025 season, one of the subplots to justify bringing him back for one more run was the idea that Florida could spend aggressively in the transfer portal. The Gators made it a point to let various media entities know how "aggressive" they were going be and how saving the money on Napier's buyout was the smart move heading into 2025.
The winter transfer portal has come and gone and Florida signed a grand total of five guys out of the portal. During his press conference on Tuesday, Billy Napier admitted something we have floated over the last month.
Florida Football: Nice Things Cost Money
Insiders were told that Florida intended to spend as much as $10 million to $13 million in NIL money this offseason. It's not as much as the reported $20 million Ohio State spent this past offseason, but it at least gave Florida fans hope the Gators would go out and try to load up around DJ Lagway heading into 2025 season.
Now, if you want to argue that the roster for Florida is fine, that's a different discussion. And yes, retaining players like Tyreak Sapp, Caleb Banks, and Jake Slaughter was important. But in no way, shape or form was the approach the Gators took "aggressive."
Napier admitted on Tuesday that the market for players was, in fact, expensive:
"I think it was an expensive cycle, to be very blunt about it"
He also admitted that "We haven't always signed the flashiest name out of there."
If you are in Team Billy's camp and are confused as to why there are those who may be annoyed, it's because the narrative surrounding Napier in three months went from "Hey guys, we need to keep Napier so we can spend the money in the transfer portal" to "What do you mean we need portal guys? We are good with who we have."
Florida talked a big game about spending money as if they were shopping at Louis Vuitton, only to conveniently take a detour to Dollar Tree.
As this year's playoffs showcased, you can Moneyball your way to a competitive team, and if everything goes right, you might even go 10-2.
But as Ohio State showcased in the playoffs, you need elite talent across the board if you are going to make it to the finish line.
If Florida wants to raise another banner one day, they can't get sticker shock when they reach checkout.