College Football

The Richest College Football Programs

With the college football playoffs drawing closer, all eyes will soon be on the student athletes competing in the New Year’s Six and eventually, for the trophy. While the players normally get scholarships to study at their schools of choice, they remain unpaid despite the fact that their teams earn a lot of money with college football – a fact that has caused much controversy.

Forbes Magazine, which ranks college football programs for their revenue and profits, found that between the 2015/16 and the 2017/18 seasons, the Texas A&M Aggies made the most money with an average of $94 million of annual profits. Another Texan team is in the runner-up spot. The Texas Longhorns of the University of Texas reported average annual earnings of $92 million dollars, followed by the Michigan Wolverines, who earned $83 million per year on average.

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This chat shows the U.S. college football programs earning most profits (three-year average).

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Revenue of U.S. college football programs in 2011 (in million U.S. dollars)
Total annual campus revenue generated by football programs (in million U.S. dollars)
Revenue* of college football teams in 2014 (in million U.S. dollars)
Premium statistics
Total revenue of all National Football League (NFL) teams from 2001 to 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium statistics
Average operating income per franchise in the National Football League (NFL) from 2002 to 2024 (in million U.S. dollars)
Most profitable sports teams worldwide as of 2025, by operating income (in million U.S. dollars)

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