How Much is Alabama Football Worth?

The Wall Street Journal conducted a study to determine the most valuable program in college football as if it were being sold as a professional sports franchise.
Dec 31, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer reads the playcard against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Dec 31, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer reads the playcard against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
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The Wall Street Journal and Indiana University Columbus associate finance professor Ryan Brewer recently conducted a study to determine the most valuable program in college football as this season has come to a close.

The goal of this was to see how much a college football program could be sold for as if it were a professional sports franchise.

"Brewer looks at top-line revenues, growth and drivers of cash flow and makes projections about the sustainability of the operation, just as he would with any other business," the article states. "It isn’t a mere one-year snapshot, either—he combed through years of data for 131 major college football programs, from the heavyweights all the way down to Louisiana-Monroe. Then, after breaking down everything from television viewership to trends in enrollment, his spreadsheet finally spits out an answer."

The Alabama Crimson Tide's football season came to a disappointing conclusion with a loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The Crimson Tide finished the year with fewer than 10 wins for the first time since 2007.

The final AP Poll was released on Tuesday after the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame in the National Championship. Alabama finished the season ranked No. 17 after losing the bowl game, its lowest final ranking since 2007.

Brewer placed Alabama at No. 11 among all college football programs with an adjusted revenue of $142,369,686, an adjusted cash flow of $34,487,409 and an enterprise value of $846,000,000.

Top 25 in Enterprise Value

  1. Ohio State: $1.957 billion
  2. Texas: $1.897 billion
  3. Michigan: $1.655 billion
  4. Georgia: $1.348 billion
  5. Notre Dame: $1.293 billion
  6. LSU: $1.060 billion
  7. Penn State: $1.027 billion
  8. Tennessee: $1.017 billion
  9. Texas A&M: $1.001 billion
  10. Oklahoma: $881 million
  11. Alabama: $846 million
  12. Auburn: $843 million
  13. Nebraska: $838 million
  14. Florida: $793 million
  15. Wisconsin: $734 million
  16. Washington $662 million
  17. Kansas: $649 million
  18. Iowa: $640 million
  19. Arkansas: $616 million
  20. Oregon: $608 million
  21. Minnesota: $550 million
  22. Virginia Tech: $476 million
  23. Illinois: $453 million
  24. Southern California: $452 million
  25. Florida State: $446 million

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Published
Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023