In this era of college football, there’s been even more talk than normal about how Notre Dame needs to join a conference. However, every time someone thinks they’ve found the answer to the need to leave independent life behind, the Fighting Irish find a way to demonstrate why they need to stay right where they are. The latest reason might be the strongest case yet for the Golden Domers to keep going their own way, at least in football.
The Athletic recently put together a list and ranking of the value of every college football team. The exercise came in the wake of UNLV basketball coach Josh Pastner talking about how his program and the school needed an “honor” who would pony up $12 million rather than a bunch of smaller NIL donations. So the publication went to work figuring out just what it would cost to “own” a school or just its athletic department.
It should surprise no one that $12 million wouldn’t come close to buying Notre Dame. In fact, according to Matt Baker’s calculations, Elon Musk might have some trouble putting the capital together to own the Irish.
Baker has the Golden Domers as the third-highest-value programs in the country at $2.1 billion. Even more impressive than that, the Irish were at $1.85 billion last year. The school that so many people think badly needs to join a conference is clearly making the most of being independent.
Notre Dame football’s enormous valuation offers its strongest case yet for independence.
“In the 2024-25 fiscal year, Notre Dame reported more football revenue (almost $196 million) to the U.S. Department of Education than anyone else. Its recent average, however, still trailed Texas by $27 million, and the Irish have shown more volatility as a program than Ohio State. Our number puts Notre Dame football on par with the valuation of the average NHL team,” Baker wrote.
The Longhorns lead the entire country in this valuation, valued at $2.46 billion. Ohio State came in just ahead of the Irish at No. 2 with $2.3 billion. Just behind Marcus Freeman’s program is Michigan at $2 billion, and Georgia rounds out the Top Five at $1.95 billion.
One of the most interesting aspects of this valuation is that the billionaire programs fade away quickly. Even in the Power 4, where the richest schools operate, only 17 of 68 hit those most impressive numbers.
All of this goes to show two things. There’s a very obvious reason why every conference in the country would love to add Notre Dame as a member. There’s also a very obvious reason why the Fighting Irish can and will stay independent until something even more drastic than the last few years has hit college sports.
Add us as a preferred source on Google