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The Georgia Bulldogs reportedly spent plenty of money trying to convince the nation's top football players to join their program.

Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald (h/t USA Today) cited Georgia's annual NCAA financial report that covered the fiscal year of July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and noted the Bulldogs spent $3.7 million on football recruiting expenses.

That represents a jump of more than $1 million from the previous fiscal year when they led the country in the same category.

Weiszer noted the recruiting spending is one reason Georgia athletics' operating surplus of approximately $31 million marked a decrease of $12.02 million from the previous year. The program spent more than twice as much recruiting athletes for football than every other sport combined and more than five times what it did on football recruiting in the 2014 fiscal year.

It is hard to argue with the recent results for the Bulldogs, although they've come up just short of the elusive national title.

They went 13-2 with a College Football Playoff National Championship Game loss in the 2017 season, 11-3 with an SEC Championship Game appearance in the 2018 season and 12-2 with an SEC Championship Game appearance and Sugar Bowl victory in the 2019 season.

Keeping up with a conference that includes powerhouses such as Alabama, LSU, Florida and Auburn, as well as national contenders such as Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma, calls for sustained success on the recruiting trail.

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Georgia has enjoyed that with the No. 1 class in 2018, No. 2 class in 2019 and No. 1 class in 2020, per 247Sports' composite rankings.



It cost the SEC school plenty of money to get there.