The Texas Longhorns are now sitting on top of the college football money mountain, with a valuation that clears $2 billion in a new study that treats major programs like full blown pro franchises. The jump pushes Texas past the usual heavyweights and shines a light on how fast television deals, booster cash and player compensation are rewriting the sport’s financial playbook.
According to KXAN, finance professor Ryan Brewer of Indiana University Columbus pegs the Longhorns at roughly $2.2 billion, with several other powerhouse programs also crossing the billion dollar mark. The KXAN report, written by Billy Gates and published Jan. 18, 2026, walks through Brewer’s rankings and the program level revenue figures behind them.
Brewer told The Wall Street Journal that valuations across the FBS jumped about 46 percent year over year, a spike he links to new revenue sharing arrangements with players and looser transfer rules that make roster building more fluid. “There’s more value in college football than there’s ever been,” Brewer said, a line that neatly sums up why broadcasters and big money donors now sit at the center of the action.
Money Behind The Jump
Part of what launches Texas into the top spot is pure financial muscle. Brewer’s figures show the Longhorns reported roughly $298 million in football revenue, which is about $80 million more than Texas A&M. That gap gives Texas a much larger pot of cash for NIL efforts, facilities and recruiting. Those revenue and donor advantages, combined with the SEC’s lucrative media deals, help explain how the Longhorns surged in value even after a season that did not fully match the hype on the field, according to KXAN.
How Brewer Prices Programs
Brewer’s model weighs reported revenues, cash flow drivers and long term operational stability across 131 FBS programs, then estimates what each team might fetch in a hypothetical open market sale. His 2026 rankings put about 15 programs above the $1 billion line and group schools such as Texas A&M, Ohio State and LSU in the roughly $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion range, according to the analysis published in the Wall Street Journal.
Marketplace Implications
The eye popping valuations do not mean teams are going on the auction block, but they do send a clear market signal. Programs with the fattest TV contracts, largest donor networks and strongest NIL war chests are best positioned to draw even more investment and attention. Industry observers told Yardbarker that numbers like these could lure more private money into the sport and speed up the shift to a business first mindset around major college programs.
For Austin, the ranking cements the Longhorns as a national commercial heavyweight and a finance story as much as a football one. Brewer’s latest update reinforces that the economics of the college game are changing fast, and the big winners will be the programs that know how to turn all that attention into reliable revenue streams.
