Skip to main content
Notre Dame

Newsstand: The Athletic reveals hypothetical value of Notre Dame football program

Kyle Kellyby: Kyle Kelly07/23/25ByKyleKelly
Marcus Freeman Army
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. (© Danny Wild-Imagn Images)

Private equity firms have not grabbed control of college football programs just yet.

But that does not mean there won’t come a day when they do. The Athletic college football reporter Matt Baker played out that scenario in a story published Monday by ranking every Power 4 team by how much they’d sell for. Notre Dame ranked No. 4 at $1.85 billion. 

“The income doesn’t reflect a jump in TV revenue thanks to the contract extension the Irish landed with NBC in 2023; it’s large enough to put Notre Dame’s paydays within striking distance of SEC/Big Ten programs,” Baker said. “Last year’s Playoff run helps, too, not that we need to justify the lofty price tag for a team known for putting flakes of real gold on its helmets.”

As On3 writer Nick Koso explained: The Athletic used a methodology that contained real-life pro transactions over the last three years, leading to NFL and NBA sales to ratios for SEC and Big Ten schools. MLB and NHL values were the rough benchmarks for the ACC and Big 12. All Power Four schools, and Notre Dame, The Athletic favored in prestige, championships, facilities, population and realignment scenarios in these values.

Texas was first with a projected price of $2.38 billion, while Georgia ($1.92 billion) and Ohio State ($1.9 billion) just beat out the Irish for being the most valuable college football team. Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Tennessee and LSU rounded out the top 10. 

Notre Dame Posts of the Day

Notre Dame Quote of the Day

“I knew that was where I wanted to be. I knew there wasn’t going to be anything that could change that. So, I didn’t want to waste anybody else’s time.”

— Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College four-star offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh on his decision to move up his commitment date by about two weeks and pledge to the Fighting Irish on June 18.

Notre Dame Headlines of the Day

You may also like