Texas Tops The Athletic’s Valuation List of Power Four Football Programs

Overview

• The Athletic published updated hypothetical sale estimates on Thursday, July 30, placing Texas at $2.46 billion and naming Ohio State ($2.30B), Notre Dame ($2.10B) and Michigan ($2.00B) as the only schools above $2 billion.
• The valuation model converts reported football revenue and brand metrics into sale prices by comparing college programs to professional franchise transactions and treating SEC and Big Ten teams like NFL or NBA clubs while using MLB and NHL analogues for other conferences.
• Recent commercial deals are highlighted as key drivers of value, including an $18 million‑a‑year Ohio State jersey‑patch deal with JPMorgan and Notre Dame’s reported $18–$20 million‑a‑year SoFi patch agreement, plus private‑capital arrangements such as Utah’s deal.
• The rankings underline a widening financial gap with five SEC teams and four Big Ten teams in the top ten, a split that concentrates resources for recruiting, facilities and media exposure at a small group of programs.
• The Athletic stresses these figures are hypothetical not market sales, but the exercise could accelerate more high‑value sponsorships, private investment and bargaining leverage for conferences and it sharpens debates over the commercial scale of college football.