Montlake musings: Playoff bonuses, portal thoughts and more

Kalen DeBoer and his staff are earning their money.

Winning is expensive.

That’s true for many reasons, across college football and at Washington, specifically. Coach Kalen DeBoer is in line for a large salary increase. For the third consecutive offseason, the school almost certainly will also have to raise its salary pool for assistants. Talented players require healthy NIL compensation. Resources matter in high-school recruiting. Adding full-time support staff isn’t cheap, either.

Athletic departments spend money to win football games — and when they do, they have to spend even more.

Case in point: DeBoer and his assistants already have combined to accumulate seven figures in bonus money this season, and that total would increase if the Huskies defeat Texas in the Sugar Bowl — and increase again if they win the national championship.