The magazine this year is 376 pages and perhaps you did not check out every single plage in the magazine. On page 57, I have a section called “Explaining the Returning Starter Box”. Here it is and with my explanation.
Now Magazine season is a grueling 7 month process and I am on a consistent deadline from the start (Sunday after Thanksgiving in November) thru the finish in the first week of June. This year I wanted to add this category to the Experience Chart but did not figure out the calculation I wanted to use for the returning starters. We put in a column for the Homegrown chart just to give you information but it had 0 effect in the calculation.
Now it is August and I am not on a deadline. I am doing 6-7 radio shows/podcasts a day and working on my blogs, charts and prepping things for the 2026 season. I am working maybe 60-65 hours a week so it is like being on vacation. The first thing I did was have my right hand man Chris go thru and double check all the returning starter numbers and he did make about 11 corrections. They are updated in the digital magazine and we will note them in the players lost/added chart on philsteele.com.
Here is the chart for 2026. I went with a simple calculation of adding the overall starters to the returning starters for both offense and defense. This ensures that a team that has 6 starters back from last years offense and has continuity is rated higher than a team that has 0 returning starters but added 6 transfers from different programs that won jobs in the spring. The first team would be rewarded 12 points and the latter team would have just 6 points.
Let’s take a closer look at this years chart. Notre Dame is at the top of the chart along with Virginia Tech and Virginia for 33 returning starters points. At the bottom of the chart are Southern Mississippi which has just 2 points with 1 returning starter from last year! Many players from last years Southern Miss squad are on Memphis but the Tigers do not rank higher as they had just 1 returning starter from last year with many players off to Arkansas. Iowa St has 0 returning starters from last year with 24 of their players headed to Penn St which retained 5 starters so they rank #39 with 22 points.
I will do a past returning starter breakdown in August and look at last years numbers backfitting in my new system into them and see how they fared in 2025. I should have that blog towards the end of the month. During August I will be doing more blogs and then putting them up during the season when I do not have a lot of time for blogs.
This years magazine is 376 pages and the biggest and best ever. Here are the different ways you can order the magazine.
Option #1 – Pick one up at your local Barnes and Noble or Books-a-Million store. When you go into a Barnes and Noble you get two different cover choices in each store! The official on sale date is July 4th but it is hitting some stores sooner. It is also available at Books-a-Million which all have the national cover. These two distributors are our exclusive vendors of the magazine, and they are not available at Walmart’s, Walgreens, Grocery Stores, other bookstores or drug stores so save your gas. The only two brick and mortar store they are available are Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million.
Option #2 – Buy the Hard copy of the magazine at philsteele.com or call 1-866-918-7711. The total cost depends on where you live and which of the four types of shipping you choose. It will cost you in the ballpark of $10 for shipping and tax. The biggest advantage of buying online is that When you buy the Hard copy you GET the DIGITAL version of the magazine ($19.99) for FREE and it is updated thru September. Your digital access begins immediately when you purchase. You also get your choice of covers (National, SEC, Midwest, Southwest, West or East Coast) as these are generally mailed out the same or next business day as the order. Order Here!
Option #3 – Buy the digital magazine. The best thing about the digital magazine is that it is updated all the way thru the month of September. If a coach gets fired (that has happened the last couple of years) we update it. If a player is injured and out for the year we CIRCLE him in the magazine. If a player is added late (very rare) we put him in. Any changes to the team from the start of June thru the month of September is updated in the digital version. When you go to the philsteele.com store you will not see a picture there, you need to click on Digital Editions and order it there. It will be activated immediately giving you instant access. Order the Digital Here!
Option #4 – Order the VIP Bundle – The price of the VIP bundle is $44.95. With the VIP bundle you get the National Cover of the magazine. All VIP’s received EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the digital version of the magazine for one week, but that bonus is gone as the digital is now available for everyone. You receive two magazines PLUS the Digital Magazine. You also receive FOUR Free issues of my Inside the Pressbox Newsletter ($20 per issue – $80 value) which gives you my Forecast and my computers forecast on EVERY FBS game each week. You also receive access to Phil Steele Plus ($25 per month) for the months of June, July, August and September! The VIP Bundle also includes SHIPPING so it is basically just $10 more than ordering the magazine by itself! Order the Reg VIP Bundle Here!!
Option #5 – THE BEST BUY – Order the Super VIP Bundle – The price of the SUPER VIP bundle is $74.95. With the Super VIP Bundle you receive
TWO magazines INCLUDING SHIPPING ($69 value!), EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to the digital version for one week (that happened already), order shipped next business day. Use the 2nd magazine when your first one gets dogeared or sell/give it to a friend.
Digital magazine ($19.95 value) FREE – The digital magazine is updated thru September (see option 3) and you get immediate access to the digital version upon purchase.
Four Issues of my Inside the Pressbox newsletter ($80 value) which gives you my forecast and my COMPUTERs forecast on EVERY FBS games each week (including FBS vs FCS) the same bonuses that the VIP’s get. You also receive…
FCS Digital Magazine ($25) FREE – Two full pages on Every FCS team laid out the same way the pages are for the FBS magazine. There are 128 FCS teams so over 250 pages!
NFL Digital Magazine ($15) FREE – Four full pages on Every NFL team and a Fantasy Football section!
Phil Steele Plus ($99 value) ENTIRE SEASON FREE – This is a tremendous addition. If you purchase the full year access to Phil Steele Plus it is $99 but you get it included in the Super VIP Bundle Purchase the Super VIP Bundle now and get the entire year of Phil Steele Plus FREE!! Here is a link to all the great info available on Phil Steele Plus including the schedule predictor! Order the Super VIP Bundle Here!!
