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Nebraska's Memorial Stadium has sold out 403 consecutive games. Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Wanna ‘Buy’ the Nebraska Football Program? You’ll Need Plenty of Pretend Money

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By Chuck Bausman | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 1:01 PM ET

It was a fun assignment by The Athletic, a wide-sweeping, breezy read on a summer’s day with college football still more than a month away.

How much are college football franchises worth, if they could be purchased like pro franchises? Naturally, we care about this: How much are the Nebraska Cornhuskers worth on a pretend open market?

The Athletic’s formula ranked the projected price of 68 college football programs, if they could be sold. Its formula was “part art, part science … and used real-life pro transactions to gauge purchase prices relative to a team’s revenue over the past three available years of data.”

The Athletic described its efforts as “fun” and it used “back-of-the-envelope” math and “common sense.”

Where Huskers ranked

Nebraska ranked as the 17th-most valuable college program, worth $930 million in Monopoly money. The Huskers’ average football revenue is $116.3 million of real money, second in the Big Ten behind Michigan at $141 million.

The most valued football program is Texas at a $2.3 billion projected price, with $183 million in average football revenue, the most in the nation. Georgia is second at $147 million revenue. The Huskers rank ninth nationally in revenue.

The Athletic’s Matt Baker wrote about the Huskers: “Although the Cornhuskers usually rank in the top 10 in football revenue, they haven’t finished ranked (on the field) since 2012 or even beaten a ranked team since 2016 and they’re almost 30 years removed from their last national championship.

“They also have failed to stand out in the Big Ten. Those factors make Nebraska a shakier investment; the program looks more like a depreciating asset than a team on the rise.”

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Moving forward, the Huskers look to be on more solid and steadying ground. Memorial Stadium has sold out 403 consecutive games. Nebraska’s fanbase is all-in. They’re anxious over results the past decade, but still showing up with no corrosive signs of abandonment.

With last season’s 7-6 record and victory in a bowl game, Huskers fans hope that was the beginning of a long stretch of good and relevant football.

The Huskers’ ranking seems to be a fair assessment in what is a snapshot of the college football landscape going into the 2025 season. Prediction: Win more games and the ranking would be higher.

Huskers rank No. 7 in B1G

Nebraska is considered the seventh-most valuable property in the Big Ten. Eleven B1G teams made the top 30. The Southeastern Conference had 12 teams in the top 30.

The lowest-assessed Big Ten team is Rutgers at 62nd, with a pretend value of $188 million. You would think that’s a remarkably low number given Rutgers’ location in populous central New Jersey, not far from New York and Philadelphia. But those are pro sports towns. College sports are viewed with less passion than most of the Big Ten.

Here are the Big Ten teams:

1. Ohio State

Third overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $1.9 billion
Average annual football revenue: $116 million

2. Michigan

Fifth overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $1.83 billion
Average annual football revenue: $141 million

3. USC

Eighth overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $1.4 billion
Average annual football revenue: $71.3 million

4. Penn State

11th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $1.2 billion
Average annual football revenue: $109.5 million

5. Oregon

14th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $990 million
Average annual football revenue: $90 million

6. Washington

16th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $970 million
Average annual football revenue: $107.8 million

7. Nebraska

17th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $930 million
Average annual football revenue: $116.3 million

8. Wisconsin

19th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $801 million
Average annual football revenue: $101.1 million

9. Iowa

20th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $709 million
Average annual football revenue: $88.6 million

10. Michigan State

21st overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $708 million
Average annual football revenue: $88.5 million

11. Minnesota

28th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $562 million
Average annual football revenue: $80.2 million

12. Northwestern

35th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $406 million
Average annual football revenue: $66.7 million

13. Illinois

36th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $405 million
Average annual football revenue: $67.5 million

14. Indiana

38th overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $386 million
Average annual football revenue: $64.3 million

15. Purdue

41st overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $367 million
Average annual football revenue: $61.2 million

16. UCLA

T-43rd overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $340 million
Average annual football revenue: $42.2 million

17. Maryland

52nd overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $288 million
Average annual football revenue: $57.6 million

18. Rutgers

62nd overall ranking nationally
Projected price: $188 million
Average annual football revenue: $37.6 million

Who’s ranked 17th in professional sports?

Since the Huskers are deemed to be the 17th-most valuable college football franchise, we took a look at professional franchises with the same financial ranking.

According to Forbes magazine, in a survey published in May, the San Diego Padres are the 17th-most valuable MLB franchise at $1.95 billion. Baseball’s most valuable franchise: the New York Yankees, at a cool $8.2 billion.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

In 2024, CNBC valued NFL franchises. At 17 was the Pittsburgh Steelers at $6.08 billion. The Dallas Cowboys were No. 1 at $11 billion.

CNBC valued NBA franchises in February. The Washington Wizards were 17 at a value of $4.25 billion. The most valuable franchise was the Golden State Warriors, worth $9.4 billion.

CNBC valued NHL franchises in November 2024. The Pittsburgh Penguins were 17 at $1.75 billion. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the most valuable at $4 billion.

Unlike college football, these pro franchises cost real money … if you’re so inclined.

This article first appeared on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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