CFB's Most Valuable Teams, aka Unleash the Money Cannon
Michigan slots in at #3 on the list (behind TAMU and Texas at 1 and 2, respectively). Three year average revenue of $139 million with $83 million profit.
OSU comes in at 5, ND at 8, PSU at 13, Nebraska at 20, Iowa at 21, MSU at 22, Wisconsin at 23.
Curiously Clemson is 25 while Tennessee is 12, so more money does not always equal to more success.
Can we finally unleash the money cannon? With the California governor having 30 days to sign or veto the "profit from likeness" bill, which state is the next to follow suit - Texas, Florida, one of the southern states?
September 12th, 2019 at 1:18 PM ^
Anyone else tired of the "money cannon" bullshit?
September 12th, 2019 at 1:20 PM ^
I'm more tired of having the athletic department sit on piles of cash that are bigger than basically anyone else's while other schools pay players under the table.
The current rules are a clear disadvantage for Michigan and, to me, it's foolish to want those current rules to continue if you want Michigan be compete nationally at the sport of your choosing.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:28 PM ^
We have been competing nationally 3 of the last 4 years, we just trip over our own feet (or play a team that is straight up better than us and lose).
We've been competitive nationally in bball, too. Hell, our athletic department is one of the best in the country. I'm not sure what your issue is.
September 12th, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
Why be content? Why not strive to have better?
September 12th, 2019 at 5:18 PM ^
10 - 3 is NOT competing nationally.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:31 PM ^
We don't really sit on piles of cash though. Our expenditures have gone up in accordance with our revenues. I guess that correlates with lots of successful sports teams but we've got to be a little careful.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:47 PM ^
Appreciating the terminology used.
-David the Accountant
September 12th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Curious whether you are an alum? I welcome any and all support for UM sports and think holier-than-thou posturing on this question usually only signals ignorance of how things work top to bottom, but I am sometimes interested how this shakes out between alums and others. As an alum, I feel constrained to keep the U away from outright corruption. (I also sometimes think alums are more tolerant of two- or three-loss seasons. . . )
September 12th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
I am not, but I do have several family members who are. Two/three loss seasons, while not preferred, are not abhorrent to me. I simply look at the sustained, high-level of success that programs like OSU, Oklahoma, Clemson (more recently) have had and potential roadblocks for Michigan to achieve that level (minus OSU, obviously). The basketball (and now baseball) teams' deep runs in the past decade have fueled this thought - it just always seems like Michigan winds up losing in the end to a team more willing to push the envelope (sometimes literally) or bend the rules. Again, a runner-up finish is nothing to be angry or ashamed about.
Alabama is in their own zipcode and it'll be interesting to see how much they regress once Saban is done, especially with the (general) lack of success from Saban's coaching tree.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
As an alum I say pay these kids and level the playing field
September 12th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
As an alumni, I say pay everyone and level the competition.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:26 PM ^
To your last point, I think a good large part of this hinges on the fact that you can walk away from a loss of a sports game, and that doesn't affect your "Michigan identity" at all. As a fan only, their identity is tied up inextricably with the product on the field, whereas students and alumni, they walk out of that stadium W or L and there's still so much more to being a Wolverine.
September 12th, 2019 at 3:13 PM ^
The question I've been asking myself lately is this:
If just about everyone is paying players / recruits, then what's the point of following the rule for the few who do?
Consider 100+ year old state or city laws that sit on the books. Example: "If you ever find yourself driving at night through rural parts of Pennsylvania, state law requires that you stop every mile to send up a rocket signal...this absurd Pennsylvania law is technically still on the books." (https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/top-craziest-laws-still-on-the-books)
At some point, everyone just stops paying attention to old laws that no one follows any more.
So my question is, if no one in NCAA football (or basketball for that matter) is paying attention to the "can't pay players / recruits" rule, then...why should we? Simply adhering to an "old" / "outdated" law / rule for the sake of tradition or some sort of virtue signaling is pointless imo.
If we and a few others are the only ones who are going to follow this rule, then what's the point? What are we accomplishing? Ultimately, it's the NCAA's fault for utterly ignoring this behavior, but at some point it's time to put the ancient code of law down and maintain the "flow of traffic" so to speak.
September 12th, 2019 at 3:55 PM ^
I don’t understand why everyone just assumes Michigan is completely clean. Why would a kid with would you believe to be dirty offers just turn down extra benefits to attend UM? For the love of the university, I’m sorry but that’s just not the reality except for a small minority of the athletes. If you believe we are completely clean you are delusional
September 12th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
Rules?
September 12th, 2019 at 3:03 PM ^
I’m sorry, but I missed the part where a money cannon solves the problem of our head coach and players choking/squandering opportunities to win big games and get the OSU monkey off Michigan’s collective back.
September 12th, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
Someone needs to photoshop a picture of the money canon aimed at Harbaugh and his entire mouth filled with money...
September 12th, 2019 at 4:46 PM ^
Possible alternatives:
money howitzer
money peashooter
money bazooka
money slingshot
September 12th, 2019 at 7:03 PM ^
Only when the actual money cannon is aimed in the wrong direction.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
Clemson is (probably) at 25 because they report a low profit. Lots of 'team expenses' eat into that profit. No doubt all under the table cash transactions, but they come out of profit nonetheless...
September 12th, 2019 at 1:35 PM ^
And--of course--that's direct profit/revenue we're talking. The benefits in student recruitment, image, etc. . . .
September 12th, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
Their revenue is sitting at 25, though (unless I read that wrong). I wonder how much of that has to do with 'only' having 81,500 seats.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
Revenue would have more to do with the lack of an ACC Network, until this year. The B1G Network is pushing upwards of $40M to each school. That immediately puts the ACC schools $40M behind. They'll be okay, the poor things... I'm sure ACC croots aren't lacking for any (ahem) amenities from the teams that will gleefully provide them (looking at you, Clemson).
September 12th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
How far will Sparty fall when they actually start paying out penalties over the Nassar issue?
September 12th, 2019 at 1:29 PM ^
I thought the "money cannon" thing was more about how rich our alumni are, actually.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:31 PM ^
You're correct, it is about how rich (and numerous) they are, I mistyped. My original point still stands though, that the AD has money for these kind of endeavors and that Michigan is more well off than just about any program in the country.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:32 PM ^
It's hard to be the only school that doesn't cheat. A lone beacon of integrity among a dumpster fire of "academic" institutions. And people wonder why we're arrogant - Leaders and Best is more than a slogan - we truly are the best.
September 12th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
Oh, I think money equates to success ?
September 12th, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
As soon as Newsome signs the bill, EA needs to dust off some desks and servers and turn on the lights. We’re baaaaack.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^
I'm hoping they had a bunch of developers sign NDAs a few years ago and have been secretly building a new game.
Here's what's never been explained to me. Why can't they develop a college football game and not use any actual player numbers or biographical information? Leave it up to the guys at Operation Sports to create custom rosters.
September 12th, 2019 at 3:37 PM ^
Great hot take Spicoli...
EA is THE(tm) Worst game developer out there. Their approach would be to blow up the building instead of dusting anything off, rebuilding it as a time-share, with lavish furniture, and failing to install workstations or servers, in favor of Commodor 64s
September 12th, 2019 at 4:17 PM ^
Not the C64/128. I used to love my Commodore.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:04 PM ^
September 12th, 2019 at 2:27 PM ^
Remember that getting paid for likeness is not the same as getting paid by the school. UM's football profit is irrelevant since they still can't pay the players.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:28 PM ^
A lot of money to make to win 8-10 games
September 12th, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
Forbes is full of shit, and not just on this. TAMU worth more than Michigan? No one outside of Texas gives a single fuck about TAMU.
September 12th, 2019 at 4:09 PM ^
oil money? I mean, TTech is closer to the big oil fields but that would be my guess
September 12th, 2019 at 5:44 PM ^
Oil money and large fan bases. FWIW, Texas Tech wasn't founded until 1923, which was well into the Texas oil boom period.
September 12th, 2019 at 2:35 PM ^
This list seems like it's stayed pretty consistent over the last several years. The aTm thing makes no sense to me tho.
September 12th, 2019 at 3:29 PM ^
North Carolina has a similar measure brewing
September 12th, 2019 at 3:35 PM ^
MSU seems high on that list.
September 12th, 2019 at 4:58 PM ^
We may want to clarify: that $83 million profit figure is for the football program only, not the athletic department as a whole. Most of it is spent by the AD (mostly to subsidize other sports). Our actual profit is surprisingly modest, given how much we take in.