Financial Scoreboard: College Sports Revenue Statistics in 2024

One of the biggest Sports markets in the industry is College Sports. Its marketing and television rights alone generated almost $940 million in revenue. 

College Sports is not just a training ground for young athletes to compete with other players to obtain national recognition but also home to a billion-dollar industry. 

Discover the average college sports revenue, factors contributing to its billion-dollar income, and some high-paying undergraduate athletes. 

Highlights of the Article

• Among the Power Five conferences, Big Ten ruled with  $845.6 million in revenue in 2022.
• Basketball is the second most-paid college sport, with 8.1 million revenue per school yearly.
• By 2024, experts predict that the University of Minnesota-Duluth Ice Hockey will generate $6.5 million.
• Football is the most profitable college sport, with  $31.9 million in annual revenue, more prominent than the combined revenue of 35 non-football games. 
• Bronny James is the highest-paid college athlete. He secured $5.9 million from the University of Southern California to play for them in 2027.
• NCAA’s net assets remain over $450 million but with a loss of $59 million in 2022.
• 20% of the NCAA’s total expenditure in 2022 was allocated toward Coach Compensation.
• The highest-earning college athletics program in 2022-2023 is Ohio State, with $251 million in revenue.
• Oklahoma heads the list for football’s most valuable programs, with $101.119 million in revenue during 2019-2020.

What College Sport Makes the Most Money? 

College football revenue is the highest among college sports, averaging $31.9 million per school annually. TV rights deals such as from ESPN are the biggest contributors, reaching $270 million.

With almost 25 million subscribers at the start of 2023, it’s no wonder why ESPN and collegiate sports are intertwined in US TV culture.

University of Alabama’s Nick Saban is the highest-paid college football coach, with $11.7 million annually.

Football is a staple sport in America. It is the most watched sport in the NCAA, and Americans wagered over $100 billion on the NFL in 2021. 

If you’re curious about the revenue of other College Sports categories, look at the significant statistics below. 

Collegiate Sports Revenue Stats 

Each college or university generates revenue from different sources:

• Ticket sales
• Endorsements
• Television and radio contracts
• Licensing and donors.

College sports gain over $1 billion per year through the abovementioned sources, and a vast portion of this money is from college football teams.

Delve into the college sports revenue statistics, including the specific sports and team figures. 

1. Big Ten ruled the Power Five conferences with $845.6 million in revenue in the 2022 fiscal year.

(CBS Sports)

The Power Five conferences are the most prestigious and highest-earning athletic conferences in the United States college football.

Here is the Power Five conference revenue for the 2022 fiscal year.

The conference acquired $3.3 billion in 2022. The Big Ten distributed its money to 11 of its 14 member institutions.

2. College basketball generates $8.1 million per school annually.

(Sports Manor)

Basketball is the second most-paid college sport, with $8.1 million in revenue per school yearly. A big part of this revenue is from broadcasting rights given to CBS Sports. 

College basketball students earn around $20,000 to $62,000 yearly. NCAA basketball tournament partnered with CBS Sports, with a deal worth $1.1 billion.

Louisville leads the revenue in college basketball with $42 million, followed by Duke with $37 million. 

Partnering with an exclusive broadcasting network generates massive revenue in Sports College competitions.

Fun Fact

The 3rd most popular sport globally is basketball. It has over 2.2 billion fans in the world.The highest recorded viewership in basketball ever recorded is 20.4 views in the championship match between GSW and Cleveland Warriors in 2017.

3. Experts predict that the University of Minnesota-Duluth will earn $6.5 million by 2024 in Ice Hockey. 

(College Raptor, Scholar Works)

College ice hockey is the third highest revenue-generating sport after football and men’s basketball. This sport can be expensive due to team travel, facilities, and overall experience.

Although Ice Hockey is one of the smallest leagues sanctioned by the NCAA – the University of Minnesota-Duluth takes pride in the discipline as their number one College Sport. 

A factor to its maintained player base at the collegiate level is the safety of its athletes in terms of health due to the pads and gears, with the sport ranking only 9th in the injury list from 2012 to 2021.

4. Football makes around $31.9 in annual revenue, bigger than the combined revenue of 35 non-football games. 

(Business Insider, Psychology Today)

Thirty-five non-football sports combined to generate $31.7 million annually, around $200 thousand less than college football’s generated income.

Below is the average revenue for the top 14 sports at FBS schools:  

Americans love football, replacing baseball as the nation’s most popular sport, and the media supports this change. Around 37% said football is their favorite sport.

5. Bronny James will make $5.9 million, committing to the University of Southern California in 2027.

(Rookieroad)

Bronny James became the highest-paid college athlete in history without even playing in an NCAA game. Most of his earnings come from NIL deals with popular brands like Nike, Beats by Dre, etc.

As young as 18, he is now earning a lot of money. It will not be a surprise if he reaches the success of his father, LeBron James, who holds an estimated net worth of $121 million.  

Enlisted below are the top 10 highest-paid college athletes and their annual salaries:

These athletes are from different sports, and their annual gains indicate that there’s money in college sports, aside from other benefits. 

NCAA Revenue Statistics

The NCAA is committed to college athletes’ well-being and lifelong success. There are 1,098 colleges and universities in the organization and 102 athletics conferences. 

The total revenue NCAA generates comes from different sources:

Get a closer look at the NCAA’s source of revenue, budget allocation, and expenditures.

6. In 2022, the NCAA acquired almost $940 million in revenue from its two sources only.

(Statista)

The NCAA’s combined revenue from TV and marketing rights fees has reached around $940 million in revenue in 2022.

Moreover, the organization generated over $198 million in the same year through championships and NIT tournaments.

It’s surprising how much TV deals still gain despite the cord-cutting revolution in the US from 2012-2020, which led to more than 31 million people cutting their cables.

Television and marketing put much money towards the NCAA’s revenue, even if all of the segments are combined – still, it’s less than TV and marketing’s annual revenue. 

Also, data reveals that the disparity between the value of men’s NCAA tournaments is at $10.18 billion while women’s game is only at $500 million.

7. In the 2022 fiscal year, NCAA’s net assets remain over $450 million, but with a loss of $59 million.

(USA Today)

The organization acquired $1.14 billion in revenue, but nearly $59 million is in deficit. The total revenue generated for 2022 decreased by more than 1% compared to the 2021 fiscal year. 

In 2020, the NCAA earned an overwhelming $870 million in TV broadcasting and licensing rights alone. 

A consistent investment decline was observed, especially in broader stock and bond markets. The deficits correlate with the effects of the pandemic and the NCAA’s desire to recover.

8. The NCAA spent around 20% of its revenue on Coach Compensation in 2022.

(NCAA Org, TrailBlazer)

Across all three divisions, the NCAA reportedly spent $18.5 million on athletics in 2022, and the most significant expenditure shared to coaches’ compensation was around $3.8 billion.

Meanwhile, the NCAA spent approximately $3.6 billion on student-athlete financial aid. Recruiting and Medical shared only 1% of the entire budget.

Lebron James shared his thoughts about the NCAA coach’s high-paying income while student-athletes are only given free education in return.

James argued how unfair it is for players who do the heavy work to earn less than the coaches. 

In contrast, student-athletes might not directly benefit from the NCAA’s revenue but still earn through NIL deals and business sponsorships. 

Warning

Globally, there are over 230 cases of sports corruption covered by the media. The most common forms of corruption arePerformance-enhancing drugs,Illegal equipment,Bribery,Graft, and illegal betting grounds.

College Revenue Trends

In 2019, the NCAA generated $1.12 billion in revenues, and most of its money went to over 1,200 member schools. The ones that earned the bulk of it were the 350 schools from Division 1.

This part will dig into the college revenue trends, including the revenues of some top-leading universities.

9. The top 10 earners in college athletics earned over $150 million in 2022-2023.

(On3)

Big Ten and SEC are on top of the list of 25 highest earners in college athletics. OSU leads with $252 million in revenue, making the Big Ten secure the top spot on the total annual income. 

Here are the top 10 earners in college athletics in 2022.

The 9 SEC schools reached above $150 annual revenue in 2022-2023 compared to just one in 2014-2015. 

The reign of Big Ten and SEC is continually growing, and its spots are likely to remain the same due to massive TV deals that have been successfully closed, bringing more fortune to the league’s members.

10. Ohio State is the highest-earning college athletics program, with $251 million in the 2022-2023 report.

(The Spun)

Ohio State spent almost $226 million in expenses from 2022-2023, translating to roughly $25 million in total net income. The school proves that College Sports is a business and a profitable one.

Five SEC schools (Alabama, Georgia, LSU, TEXAS A&M, and Florida) are among the top 10, along with Oklahoma and Texas, out of the Big 12.

The Buckeyes are one of three Big Ten schools that cracked the top 1, with Michigan as fourth and Penn State as ninth. 

Fun Fact

Ohio student-athletes secured various NIL deals that cost around $2.98 million.There are over 220 student-athletes connected to 608 NIL opportunities. It all became a possible cause for the Buckeyes team developing the NIL-Edge-Team.

11. Oklahoma has the football’s most valuable programs, with $101.119 million in revenue in 2019-2020.

(FanNation)

The only school to reach nine figures is Oklahoma, consistently leading this century as the winningest school since WWII, as the school’s Oklahoma Sooners are a major part of Football history.

Here are the football’s top 10 most valuable programs and their 2019-2020 revenues:

Oklahoma Sooners has been consistent since 2000, and one reason is their excellent recruiting tactic. Oklahoma football bagged the championship in 11 games every year.

Takeaway

College sports reveal the significant revenue generated by the NCAA and specific sports programs, with football and basketball being the primary revenue drivers. 

Sports College cultivates successful athletic programs, securing sponsorships and attracting good television deals. It is a never-ending cycle of passion, entertainment, and money.