The most elite players in college football increase revenue for their school football programs by an average of $650,000 a year, a first-of-its-kind study suggests.

This is the money brought in by the highest-rated recruits coming out of high school – those given five stars by Rivals, a recruiting news service, according to researchers at The Ohio State University.

Four-star recruits generated about $350,000 a year and three-star recruits increased revenue by about $150,000, while two-star recruits actually reduced revenue by about $13,000 a year for college football programs, the study found.

Amid the continuing national debate about compensation for college athletes, this study offers the first solid numbers on the financial impact of players in the highest-revenue college sport, said Trevon Logan, co-author of the study, professor of economics at Ohio State and SSI's executive director.

Read the complete story by Jeff Grabmeier at the Ohio State News site.