Rivals.com Football Transfer Portal Team Recruiting Rankings Formula

6.1 = Five-star prospect: considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 30-35 players overall, a potential first-team All American candidate and a player deemed to have first-round NFL potential.

6.0-5.8 = Four-star prospect: considered one of the next-tier elite prospects in the country, a national All American candidate and a player deemed to have first- to third-round NFL potential

5.7-5.5 = Three-star prospect: considered a potential All-Conference candidate and a player deemed to have mid- to low-end pro potential and ability to impact at the college level.

5.2-5.4 = Two-star prospect: considered a mid-major prospect with limited pro potential and expected to contribute 1-2 years at a high level maximum or often as a role player.

What is the "transfer portal team rankings" formula

Rivals Transfer Rating points for a team’s top 20 rated commits + Top 100 Bonus Points = Total Points

How are the Rivals Transfer Rating "points" calculated?

Rivals Transfer Rating = Points

6.1 = 150 points

6.0 = 135 points

5.9 = 120 points

5.8 = 105 points

5.7 = 90 points

5.6 = 75 points

5.5 = 60 points

5.4 = 45 points

5.3 = 30 points

5.2 = 15 points

*Prospects without an assigned rating will count for no points.

How are the Top 100 Bonus Points calculated?

Top 100 Bonus Points



No. 1 = 100 points	No. 6 = 85 points	No. 11 = 76 points	No. 16 = 67 points	No. 21 = 58 points
No. 2 = 93 points	No. 7 = 84 points	No. 12 = 75 points	No. 17 = 66 points	No. 22 = 57 points
No. 3 = 92 points	No. 8 = 83 points	No. 13 = 74 points	No. 18 = 65 points	No. 23 = 56 points
No. 4 = 91 points	No. 9 = 82 points	No. 14 = 73 points	No. 19 = 64 points	No. 24 = 55 points
No. 5 = 90 points	No. 10 = 81 points	No. 15 = 72 points	No. 20 = 63 points	No. 25 = 54 points

Nos. 26-28 = 49 points	Nos. 41-43 = 39 points	Nos. 56-58 = 26 points	Nos. 71-73 = 16 points	Nos. 86-88 = 6 points
Nos. 29-31 = 47 points	Nos. 44-46 = 37 points	Nos. 59-61 = 24 points	Nos. 74-76 = 14 points	Nos. 89-91 = 5 points
Nos. 32-34 = 45 points	Nos. 47-49 = 35 points	Nos. 62-64 = 22 points	Nos. 77-79 = 9 points	Nos. 92-94 = 4 points
Nos. 35-37 = 43 points	Nos. 50-52 = 30 points	Nos. 65-67 = 20 points	Nos. 80-82 = 8 points	Nos. 95-97 = 3 points
Nos. 38-40 = 41 points	Nos. 53-55 = 28 points	Nos. 68-70 = 18 points	Nos. 83-85 = 7 points	Nos. 98-100 = 2 points

Why did Rivals.com change the transfer team rankings formula?

The rise of the transfer portal has changed the college football recruiting landscape and the philosophies of player personnel departments.

Since its inception, the transfer portal and the way college football programs use it has evolved and so too must the transfer team rankings formula.

The first version of the transfer team rankings formula counted the Rivals Transfer Rating points for all of the transfers a team signed in that cycle in addition to all the Top 100 Bonus Points.

As college programs have refined their strategies regarding the transfer portal, we have found that the quality of the classes with more than 20 transfers have been valued too highly, which is why the new transfer team rankings formula was developed.

The final transfer team rankings for the 2023 and 2024 classes will remain unchanged. The 2025 transfer team rankings will be the first using the new formula.

What is different about the new formula?

The transfer team rankings formula remained largely the same but with one change. Instead of counting the Rivals Transfer Rating points for all of the transfers a team signed, now just the top 20 rated transfers will count in the formula. This change mirrors the formula used in the high school team rankings.

The Top 100 Bonus Points scale remained unchanged and is still applied to the formula in the same fashion.