Estimated valuations of the nation's top college football programs have increased a record 46% year-over-year since the NIL and revenue-sharing era began, led by the University of Texas football program at nearly $2.2 billion.
The numbers were compiled by The Wall Street Journal and cited by Brad Crawford of CBS Sports ahead of Monday night's national championship game, won by Indiana University over the University of Miami.
"Ironically, neither of those programs rank among the highest valuations, as 15 teams exceeded $1 billion, including 14 from the SEC or Big Ten with Notre Dame being the outlier at No. 6 ($1.418 billion valuation). The Longhorns hold the highest adjusted revenue from 2025 at $298 million, followed by Texas A&M ($218 million), LSU ($213 million) and Nebraska ($197 million)," Crawford wrote.
College football media rights recently crossed $4 billion, with ticket sales, alumni donations, licensing, ad contracts and conference distributions collectively helping make college athletics one of the world's biggest businesses, Crawford reported.
"Following last summer's landmark House v. NCAA antitrust settlement, the door was opened for the first time for millions of dollars to be shared between schools and players," he wrote. "Schools were allowed to share as much as $20.5 million of their revenues with players this season, with that figure reportedly being the floor of roster-spending with many exceeding that number."
Last May, noted Crawford, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian dispelled "irresponsible reporting" of his roster nearing $40 million this season. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti told CBS Sports last spring that many of the top programs allocated tens of millions to their talent acquisition efforts.
"Prior to winning last season's national championship, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork confirmed the Buckeyes had one of the nation's highest-paid rosters," Crawford wrote. "This came a few years after the NCAA began permitting NIL compensation in 2021, allowing athletes the ability to earn money through endorsements and third-party entities.
"With one of the nation's largest athletic budgets, Ohio State was one of the early adopters of college football's new recruiting and player retention model and it worked to the Buckeyes' advantage."
Texas A&M ranked second on The Wall Street Journal list at $1.59 billion, followed by Ohio State at $1.55 billion. Both teams made the 12-team 2025 college football playoff, while Texas did not.
A quarter of the teams on the WSJ list of 20 will have new coaches in 2026, Crawford reported.
