The College Sport That Makes The Most Money Is Also One Of America's Most Popular

The governing body of American college athletics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), oversees the management of revenues from championship tournaments at the college level, while revenue generated from sources including ticket sales, conferences, and private donations, fall under the purview of each college. In other words, although the NCAA ensures the rules are followed by each college at the school level, they don't actually control the movement of money. While the NCAA used to control television deals for college athletics, including college football, a landmark case in 1984, NCAA v. Board of Regents (of the University of Oklahoma), gave colleges more control over television deals. So with the exception of college basketball's March Madness tournaments — still providing a far-from-disappointing $1.22 billion for the NCAA in 2022 — all the money from television deals go directly to each school.

While baseball may be considered America's national pastime, college football takes the brass ring as far as the most valuable college sport. According to 2022 Form 990 tax returns, college sports generated a total $13.6 billion in revenue, which is more than Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA) each individually generated that year. At the head of the pack in terms of revenue is college football, which between all Power 5 Conferences earned just over $3.3 billion in revenue in 2022, with an average distribution of $226.5 million per school. Here's why college football is so lucrative. 

While none of the college football teams in the NCAA are slouches in the financial department, the top five teams revealed by a Wall Street Journal study are unsurprisingly among the top ranked teams in the league. The second-place ranked college football team, Notre Dame, has a valuation of $1.293 billion, with the help of a head coach that helped bring the team to a championship game. Although Georgia ranks sixth in college football rankings, it has the fourth-highest valuation at $1.348 billion after earning two consecutive championships. 

Michigan is a bit of an outlier since it doesn't rank in the NCAA top 25, and yet, it's valued at $1.655 billion as the third-most-valuable college football team more likely influenced by its standing as a legacy team with 1,000 game wins that include a championship in 2023. The second-highest-valued college football team is Texas at $1.897 billion, the fourth-place ranked team in the NCAA. Wealthy donors, rabid fans, and over a quarter billion dollars in revenue helped push this college football team near the top. Last but not least, is number one in NCAA rankings and in valuation, Ohio State at $1.957 billion. According to Legal Sports Betting, there are at least 39 states that allow sports betting on college football, which aside from demonstrating how sports betting affects the economy, it shows the growth of college football as a major business. 

College football makes money through several avenues, including ticket sales, private donors, sales of merchandise, conference games, and television deals. Where the latter is concerned, television deals are the most lucrative to college football teams, making up 31% of revenue, the equivalent of $4.2 billion in 2022. In 2022, school and state funding accounted for over 17.1% at $2.3 billion, donations were 16.3% at just over $2.2 billion, ticket sales were 12.1% at over $1.6 billion, and student fees, post season championships, and miscellaneous revenue accounted for the rest. The Power 5 Conferences earned just over $3.3 billion in 2022, with an average distribution between schools equal to about $226.5 million.

While the highest-paid NFL Players earn an astounding amount of money, college football player sums are nothing to sneeze at. In July 2019, California governor Gavin Newsome's Fair Pay to Play Act — a bill that allowed college football players to earn money on their name, image, or likeness (NIL) — began a chain reaction across the country. There are currently 32 states with NIL laws, and after a legal battle between the NCAA and The Power 5 Conferences in 2024, college athletes who played before July 2021 received a record a $2.75 billion retroactive pay out, with the addition of each school being allocated up to $20 million to pay their athletes. The top 20 ranked college football players have an estimated minimum value of $1 million.