Where Clemson ranks among college football's most valuable programs |
Brandon Rink
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- Wednesday, January 22 2025
The Wall Street Journal partnered with a college professor to show how much each college football program is worth ($), and Clemson is rated outside of the Top 25.
In a list dominated by the top two money leagues of the SEC and Big Ten, Clemson is down at 27th in value at $439 million, which "considers factors such as revenue, growth, cash flow, and sustainability, and accounts for the recent changes in college sports, including the introduction of player compensation," says WSJ. Ohio State paces the ranking at $1.957 billion, followed by Texas ($1.897B), Michigan ($1.655B), Georgia ($1.348B) and Notre Dame ($1.293B). The top team value outside of the SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame is Kansas ($649 million), and Virginia Tech ($476M) and Florida State ($455M) are also listed ahead of Clemson. Instate rival South Carolina is down at 44th ($312M). More on the process from Indiana University Columbus professor Ryan Brewer: Brewer conducts his study by analyzing a program’s finances and asking: What would it be worth if it could be bought and sold like a professional 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. 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. This isn’t the first time Brewer has tackled this question, but these days, assigning a value to college programs is more complicated than ever. This is the first time he has compiled his data since college sports entered a new financial paradigm. Now, in addition to players getting paid by sponsors and boosters, schools are set to pay players directly... Brewer’s analysis also accounts for factors that might not appear on any balance sheet. Alabama, for instance, used to get a bump simply because of the value one person brought to the program. But Nick Saban is no longer the coach of the Crimson Tide, and the team missed the expanded playoff without him [Alabama is 11th now at $846M]. Those types of X-factors are also why Brewer says that in the alternate universe where the top college football teams were on the market, he wouldn’t be surprised if the final price were closer to $4 billion. He calculates what the financials say a team should cost. But sports teams are rare assets where the price tag can blow well past the intrinsic value. The Washington Commanders recently set an NFL record by going for $6 billion. Brewer envisions a scenario where college football teams become the subject of bidding wars between the people already pouring cash into the sport: ultrawealthy alumni. A CNBC look with AthleticDirectorU last month evaluated Clemson's athletic program valuation as a whole and ranked Clemson 16th overall at $800 million. That was good for seventh-best among 2024 season Playoff teams. WSJ football program valuations 1. Ohio State - $1.957 billion 2. Texas $1.897B 3. Michigan $1.655B 4. Georgia $1.348B 5. Notre Dame $1.293B 27. Clemson $439M 44. South Carolina $312M
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