Notre Dame named top-3 most valuable program by The Athletic

Earlier this week, Ohio State landed a massive agreement with JPMorgan Chase, paying the university $18 million a year and getting jersey patches in return. Then, Notre Dame one-upped them. Notre Dame landed a deal with SoFi worth $18-$20 million per year.

Prior to this, Utah finalized a deal for a private equity firm to support them, while the Big 12 gave up naming rights to their games to Monster Energy. This led to the question: if an entity wanted to buy a Division I FBS team on the open market, what would be the cost? Matt Baker attempted to answer this question.

The top team on the list was Texas football, coming in at a value of $2.46 billion.

“The Longhorns have elite resources, an ideal location and a spot in a premier conference. The only thing missing is a recent national championship, although Arch Manning’s team should be in the conversation this year. Then again, we thought the same thing last season,” Baker wrote.

The second team on the list was Ohio State football, coming in just behind Texas at $2.3 billion.

“Revenue alone would put the Buckeyes seventh or eighth, but their average figures are weighed down by a 2023 season that featured only six home games. We put more stock in the fact that Ohio State’s football revenue jumped almost $50 million during the 2024 national-title run and the fact that the program is recession-proof (still only two losing seasons since 1967). The Buckeyes’ power isn’t tied to one coach or one era, which makes them a safer investment than some other programs in this tier. It also helps explain why Ohio State’s figure grew the most of any other team,” the evaluation said.

Finally, Notre Dame football ranked third, coming in with a value of $2.1 billion.

“In the 2024-25 fiscal year, Notre Dame reported more football revenue (almost $196 million) to the U.S. Department of Education than anyone else. Its recent average, however, still trailed Texas by $27 million, and the Irish have shown more volatility as a program than Ohio State. Our number puts Notre Dame football on par with the valuation of the average NHL team,” Baker added.

Overall, 17 teams had an evaluation above $1 billion. All the teams were in the Big 12 or SEC, other than Notre Dame, sitting at third. The top five was rounded out by Michigan, the only other team with a $2 billion evaluation, and Georgia at five. Alabama, Oklahoma, USC, Tennessee, and Penn State finished the Top ten. The top-ranked team from the ACC came in at 18th, which was Miami at $950 million. Meanwhile, the top Big 12 team was Utah at 26th, worth $638 million.

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