The University of Texas has the most valuable college football program in the US

Despite not having won a national championship in two decades now, the Longhorns, the 132-year-old American football team at the University of Texas, is the most valuable college football program in America, per recent estimates from The Athletic. 

Bleacher-nomics

According to the new report, the Longhorns are worth a staggering $2.38 billion — almost half a billion dollars more than the Georgia Bulldogs in second place. Though The Athletic’s projections, by its own admission, are a blend of “back-of-the-envelope math” and a “common sense” approach to pricing the programs (which aren’t yet for sale), the Longhorns have been posting some of the most robust financials in the game for a while.

Over the last three years, the University of Texas team brought in $183 million worth of revenue on average, after a bumper season last year where they were the only college football outfit to post sales exceeding $200 million. The Georgia Bulldogs, by comparison, reported $147 million a year in revenue on average, while Ohio State, the third-most valuable team from The Athletic’s workings, posted just $116 million.

The sports publication conceded that it took “the biggest liberty” with USC’s position in the ranking. While $73 million in average annual revenue would put the Trojans around the $900 million valuation mark, they were bumped up to $1.4 billion to reflect the shares they receive from being in the Big Ten, the Trojans’ brand power, its LA location, and other financial factors.