The Ohio State Buckeyes are in championship-or-bust mode after falling short of all their rivalry, conference and national goals under head coach Ryan Day the last three seasons, and chasing championships in today's college football world is not a cheap endeavor.

Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork estimated that donor-led collectives and brand affiliates paid "around $20 million" to Buckeyes football players this past year, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.

Dellenger suggested that is likely the highest such name, image and likeness number in the country.

The Buckeyes weren't pleased entering the offseason.

After all, they had just lost their third straight game to the hated Michigan Wolverines and then watched their archrivals win the College Football Playoff national title. It was surely of little consolation that the NCAA is still investigating Michigan's program for its sign-stealing scandal, as the Scarlet and Gray missed an opportunity to send a message on the field.

To their credit, they responded in impressive fashion heading into the 2024 campaign.

Notable players such as wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson, defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, cornerback Denzel Burke, and safety Lathan Ransom elected to return instead of entering the NFL draft.

Day also brought in the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 class in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and has the top-ranked 2025 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

While Ohio State didn't add a significant amount of players in the transfer portal, the ones they did snag figure to make quite the impact this season.

Safety Caleb Downs could be one of the best defensive players in the nation, running back Quinshon Judkins makes up quite the one-two punch with Henderson, and quarterback Will Howard and center Seth McLaughlin could start.

Landing those transfers and maintaining a number of important players on the roster instead of seeing them go to the NFL meant plenty of NIL expenses, but it will all be worth it to the Buckeyes if they can turn things around against Michigan and compete for a national title.

Ohio State lost to the Wolverines twice in 20 years from 2001 to 2020 but has dropped three in a row to its rivals. The collectives handing out that NIL cash surely want to stop that losing streak, win a Big Ten title and take home a national title if they are spending that much money.