The price of being a top high school football recruit keeps climbing, and the next class has already cleared a new threshold.At least five incoming high school seniors are on track to become millionaires the moment they step on a college campus, according to a new ESPN report.The figures land at a time when college football's money era is reshaping how players get recruited, when they commit and what programs actually spend their evenings selling.What 2027 recruits are getting paidESPN's Eli Lederman reported that "at least five 2027 prospects are set to sign deals that will pay them more than $1 million in their first college season."That number tracks with how fast the class is locking in. Out of ESPN's top 300 Class of 2027 recruits, 55 percent have already committed, up from just over 45 percent at the same point last year.The takeaway is simple: Programs are paying to win recruiting battles before official visits, typically hosted in late spring and early summer, even begin.The cost of doing business in college football is continuing to climb, according to the latest NIL numbers on recruits from the Class of 2027. | Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesAs Lederman put it, "Under the right circumstances, the only thing keeping a program from locking down a coveted recruit for the future early is a substantial financial investment."It is worth noting these are seven-figure deals for players who have not taken a college snap. The model rewards programs willing to commit cash early, and it punishes the ones still deliberating in June.How NIL changed recruiting visitsThe financial side has not just sped things up. It has rewritten the playbook for spring visits that once defined the recruiting calendar.Lederman reported that NIL deals have made the official visit, long treated as a pivotal step, secondary to the size of a program's offer.The numbers from last year explain why coaches are rethinking the whole production. Top 2026 signees such as Miami's Jackson Cantwell and Texas Tech's Felix Ojo reportedly secured multiyear deals worth north of $5 million, while USC spent a reported $10 million to $12 million to land the nation's No. 1 class. Against that backdrop, a million-dollar freshman is no longer an outlier. It is the going rate near the top.Miami offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, one of the top Class of 2026 recruits, secured a big payday upon signing with the Hurricanes. | Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORKCoaches are adjusting their budgets accordingly. Lederman reported that "multiple coaches and GMs told ESPN that they've trimmed their hosting budgets in recent years," though photoshoots and similar perks remain part of the pitch.The business now starts before anyone tours a facility. One agent told Lederman that players' representatives want to know what a school is offering at least "a week or two" before taking an official visit, and some visits never happen at all when the two sides cannot agree on a number.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow