Texas leads the pack in The Athletic’s hypothetical appraisal of college football programs

In a research piece published on Monday, The Athletic’s Matt Baker made an attempt to put a valuation on college football programs. Of course, teams are not for sale as they are in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, etc., but with the way the sport is trending towards a more professional model, it’s an understandable endeavor.

Baker prefaced his research with a number of qualifiers, including using the last three years of available financials for each school, plus factors like popularity, fan base, locations, etc. He calls it “part art, part science.”

The Longhorns came out on top, by a decent margin in Baker’s valuation, worth a projected $2.3 billion.

The rationale, via Baker:

“The Longhorns routinely lead the country in revenue and were the only team to top $200 million in the most recent financial reports. No program came within $25 million of Texas in either of the past two years. The Longhorns haven’t won a national title since 2005 but made the College Football Playoff semifinals each of the past two seasons and are among this preseason’s top championship contenders. Add in the SEC brand, and Texas looks like the safest investment.

Our price tag makes the Longhorns comparable to the 2018 sale of the Carolina Panthers (almost $2.3 billion).”

Following the Longhorns are No. 2 Georgia at $1.92 billion, No. 3 Ohio State at $1.9 billion, No. 4 Notre Dame at $1.85 billlon, and No. 5 Michigan at $1.83 billion, and so on. You can see the full rankings HERE.

For rivalry sake, Oklahoma ranks No. 7 at $1.49 billion and Texas A&M ranks No. 15 at $973 million. 

Texas enters 2025 with arguably the highest expectations of any program in college football, despite losing 23 NFL Draft picks over the course of the past two seasons. The Longhorns have a handful of preseason All-Americans on its roster, including safety Michael Taaffe, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and edge rusher Colin Simmons on defense. On offense the Longhorns are replacing a good bit of production, but have talent to boot, including quarterback Arch Manning, running back Quintrevion Wisner, wide receiver Ryan Wingo, and tight end Jack Endries among others. 

Texas is currently the betting favorite to win the College Football Playoff championship next January at +550. That’s just ahead of Georgia and Ohio State, both at +600. Texas opens the season on Aug. 30 in Columbus against the defending national champion Buckeyes in a rematch of the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. 

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