ACC Schools – NIL & NCAA Revenue Sharing

ACC Conference
Members 2026-27		Year
Joined		Prior
Conference
Boston College2005Big East
California2024Pac-12
Clemson 1953Charter Member
Duke 1953Charter Member
Florida State 1991Metro
Georgia Tech1979Metro
Louisville2014Big East
Miami2004Big East
North Carolina 1953Charter Member
North Carolina State 1953Charter Member
Notre Dame *2013Big East
Pittsburgh2013Big East
Southern Methodist 2024American
Syracuse 2013Big East
Stanford 2024Pac-12
Virginia1953Independent
Virginia Tech2004Big East
Wake Forest 1953Charter Member
* Independent for Football
Total Members18


Estimated Football Roster Costs 2026: ACC Teams

We estimate that ACC football teams will have a median roster cost of around $ 21 million for the 2026-27 season, of which approximately $ 15 million will be paid via revenue sharing and almost $ 6 million via third-party NIL:

Estimated Football Roster Costs
ACC Schools 2026-27 ($)
Total Payments
to Athletes ($)		Paid by School via
Revenue Sharing 		Paid via Third-Party
Commercial NIL *
Miami38,629,00015,600,00023,029,000
Clemson27,786,00015,600,00012,186,000
Florida State26,391,00015,600,00010,791,000
Southern Methodist22,044,00015,600,0006,444,000
Virginia Tech21,908,00015,600,0006,308,000
Louisville21,906,00015,600,0006,306,000
North Carolina21,876,00015,600,0006,276,000
Georgia Tech21,750,00015,600,0006,150,000
Pittsburgh21,240,00015,600,0005,640,000
Virginia21,084,00015,600,0005,484,000
Duke20,492,00015,600,0004,892,000
North Carolina State20,456,00015,600,0004,856,000
California20,378,00015,600,0004,778,000
Stanford20,324,00015,600,0004,724,000
Syracuse20,074,00015,600,0004,474,000
Wake Forest20,022,00015,600,0004,422,000
Boston College18,797,00015,600,0003,197,000
Conference Median ($)$ 21,240,000$ 15,600,000$ 5,640,000

* Data on third-party NIL is private, and almost all schools keep this information very close to the vest. However, we believe these estimates are reasonably accurate and conservative. The University of Alabama’s General Manager has stated that some schools with high aspirations are spending over $ 40 million to assemble championship contending teams, and there are (unsupported) estimates from other GMs of a few $ 60 million football rosters.  See our methodology page for how we arrived at these estimates.

While third-party NIL is technically independent of the schools (and not recorded on their books), a significant portion of these payments are funded by school boosters and sponsors, i.e. money that otherwise would likely have gone directly to the schools. Consequently, the currently uncontrolled third-party NIL market almost certainly results in an added strain on college athletic department finances. 

2025 Operating Results: ACC Schools

Per NCAA reporting, ACC schools averaged a net operating loss of $ 71 million per school in 2025.  These losses were funded by booster contributions averaging $ 38 million per school, combined school support and student fees averaging $ 24 million per school and investment / endowment income averaging $ 6 million per school:


Operating Results ($)
ACC Schools 2025 *		Operating
Revenue		Operating
Expenses		Loss from
Operations		Booster
Contributions		Student Fees &
School Support		Endowment &
Investment
Surplus
(Deficit)
California74,323,630173,116,317-98,792,68720,523,20838,906,64815,087,410-24,275,421
Clemson121,833,921197,684,981-75,851,06056,185,21220,180,572378,990893,714
Florida State103,201,873208,187,039-104,985,16655,634,74442,505,03310,608,9733,763,584
Georgia Tech88,450,433155,972,603-67,522,17038,778,94216,499,19512,322,00777,974
Louisville **116,686,011147,750,426-31,064,41521,203,8276,868,7872,153,386-838,415
North Carolina117,619,741187,967,260-70,347,51940,215,44810,423,6154,692,230-15,016,226
North Carolina State87,604,507134,541,641-46,937,13436,881,48217,063,455-7,007,803
Virginia75,818,085162,066,043-86,247,95834,618,65437,216,9927,466,853-6,945,459
Virginia Tech93,220,414156,147,692-62,927,27838,783,48624,095,5795,118,2095,069,996
Average per School ($)97,639,846169,270,445-71,630,59938,091,66723,751,0976,425,340-3,362,495

Some big red ink here … Florida State’s net operating loss exceeded $ 100 million and California (with only a fractional media share) wasn’t far behind. These losses are only likely to get bigger with the added costs of revenue sharing and additional scholarships kicking in this year.

* Data available for public universities only.
** Operating expenses for Louisville do not include revenue sharing payments reported on 2025 NCAA filing.

2025 Operating Revenues: ACC Schools

Operating Revenues are sources of income received from exchange transactions.  This is distinct from athletic department support such as booster contributions, student fees and school funding. This distinction is important when evaluating an organization’s ongoing ability to meet expenses.


Operating Revenues
ACC Schools 2025 ($)		Total
Revenue 		Ticket
Sales		Media, NCAA
& Conference		Licenses &
Sponsorships 		Game
Guarantees 		Other
Revenue
California74,323,63014,259,89324,695,5275,490,492474,30029,403,418
Clemson121,833,92139,128,33454,140,49517,906,4915,118,2725,540,329
Florida State103,201,87328,515,03947,668,81614,187,618167,67212,662,728
Georgia Tech88,450,43315,669,50355,170,0739,938,4363,130,3154,542,106
Louisville116,686,01134,240,44748,957,39424,645,7651,100,0007,742,405
North Carolina117,619,74132,116,53151,930,80623,973,222825,0868,774,096
North Carolina State87,604,50726,322,91248,147,7012,401,1813,979,7336,752,980
Virginia75,818,08515,902,11947,352,4048,166,062419,9003,977,600
Virginia Tech93,220,41423,716,39348,068,70514,961,055462,0506,012,211
Average per School ($)97,639,84625,541,24147,347,99113,518,9251,741,9259,489,764

2025 Operating Expenses: ACC Schools


2025 Expenses
ACC Schools ($)		Total
Expenses 		Coaching
Salaries		Admin
Salaries		Athletic
Scholarships		Game
Guarantees		Travel, Uniforms
& game costs		FundraisingFacilities, overhead
& administration		RecruitingAthlete Medical,
Meals & Benefits
Severance
Payments		Other
Expenses
California173,116,31730,758,23035,772,87123,146,3791,817,36027,223,3388,775,97720,087,1023,866,2918,721,135879,59312,068,041
Clemson197,684,98140,432,02837,431,21321,964,1102,450,74225,572,3312,633,86822,178,6535,081,02312,491,0251,758,34525,691,643
Florida State208,187,03931,002,72124,354,67010,861,1812,674,12020,509,73934,921,11746,605,0042,577,8425,656,2453,373,50225,650,898
Georgia Tech155,972,60321,785,39620,522,33013,350,9971,650,85232,298,647**36,919,1302,591,2205,707,4804,888,70316,257,848
Louisville **147,750,42630,267,04025,319,48715,896,5362,151,18126,374,2694,262,32022,071,5852,740,4737,336,8052,762,7358,567,995
North Carolina187,967,26034,887,47329,663,68716,208,6621,769,98525,869,55314,260,49329,902,4674,192,93610,100,5073,978,20117,133,296
North Carolina State134,541,64130,034,40625,566,99412,284,1692,781,03115,625,9001,643,86619,171,5513,400,6755,659,2741,761,82616,611,949
Virginia162,066,04330,521,36622,669,74725,375,4691,342,67319,268,52910,883,85428,963,6452,909,2987,691,3191,441,96410,998,179
Virginia Tech156,147,69225,841,20222,909,98717,191,3881,295,95721,351,04815,378,77629,430,7473,384,3579,709,079880,4168,774,735
Average per School ($)169,270,44530,614,42927,134,55417,364,3211,992,65623,788,15010,306,69728,369,9873,416,0138,119,2082,413,92115,750,509

Operating expenses are expected to increase significantly in 2026 due to impact of revenue sharing and increased scholarship limits for all sports … around $ 25 million in new costs this year for some ACC schools.

** Operating expenses for Louisville do not include revenue sharing payments reported on 2025 NCAA filing.

Average Operating Results: 2025 v 2024

Operating Results 2024-25
Average per ACC School ($)		FYE 2025 ($)FYE 2024 ($)
Operating Revenues97,639,84692,451,773
Operating Expenses169,270,445151,562,775
Loss from Operations-71,630,599-59,111,002
Booster Contributions38,091,66734,470,378
School Support & Student Fees23,751,09719,890,802
Endowment & Investment6,425,3406,395,257
Surplus (Deficit)-3,362,4951,645,435

 Average Operating Revenues: 2025 v 2024

Operating Revenue 2024-25
Average per ACC School ($)		FYE 2025 ($)FYE 2024 ($)
Ticket Sales25,541,24124,113,786
Media, NCAA & Conference47,347,99146,936,583
Licenses & Sponsorships13,518,92514,474,454
Game Guarantees1,741,9251,240,180
Other Operating Revenues9,489,7645,686,770
ACC School Average ($)97,639,84692,451,773

Average Operating Expenses: 2025 v 2024

Operating Expenses 2024-25
Average per ACC School ($)		FYE 2025 ($)FYE 2024 ($)
Coaching Salaries30,614,42929,293,434
Administrative Salaries27,134,55425,932,116
Athletic Scholarships17,364,32117,309,458
Travel, Uniforms & Game Costs23,788,15021,756,483
Fundraising & Marketing10,306,6973,715,116
Facilities, overhead & administration28,369,98724,643,103
Recruiting3,416,0133,215,488
Athlete Medical & Insurance8,119,2085,394,364
Game Guarantees1,992,6561,912,722
Severance Payments2,413,9211,892,850
Other Operating Expenses15,750,50916,497,641
ACC School Average ($) 169,270,445151,562,775

 

EADA Operating Expenses: ACC Schools 2022-25

Per EADA (aka Title IX) reporting, average 2025 athletic department operating costs were $ 165 million for ACC schools, a 37% increase in expenses over a 3-year span:

ACC Athletic Departments
Annual Expenses 2022-25*		FY 2025 ($)FY 2024 ($)FY 2023 ($)FY 2022 ($)3-year %
Increase
Notre Dame **244,698,449209,049,397204,392,860170,878,84843%
Miami230,484,608182,459,468159,633,958148,497,80555%
Stanford192,802,320199,603,664179,645,688156,600,88723%
Florida State192,717,172169,896,350170,434,508147,596,65931%
Clemson186,106,774171,016,070152,093,316140,436,88233%
North Carolina180,835,031149,062,850136,891,350117,437,61954%
Duke180,590,186166,757,447150,765,898148,026,18822%
California173,116,318146,563,317134,872,865114,485,84851%
Louisville154,819,604165,168,798152,601,594139,978,92411%
Pittsburgh151,337,808138,637,236136,704,076122,722,49523%
Virginia150,622,194134,608,065125,968,540121,148,34124%
Southern Methodist150,225,31399,506,41486,044,16279,414,94689%
Virginia Tech148,984,818126,337,823117,168,565109,216,78336%
Boston College142,122,049136,563,473118,430,39295,703,91749%
Georgia Tech140,430,227127,823,348114,155,97291,780,85653%
North Carolina State129,009,673124,901,094118,653,089100,680,07928%
Wake Forest114,628,069102,342,89097,298,47584,889,48735%
Syracuse108,994,576108,152,35894,193,66484,556,10129%
Average per School ($)165,140,288147,691,670136,108,276120,780,70437%

* Expenses per Equity in Athletics Act (EADA) annual reporting. EADA differs from NCAA reporting with the primary difference being that EADA reporting does not require disclosure of payments made for athletic facilities debt service and leases.  Consequently, EADA reporting typically results in lower annual expenses than NCAA reporting at most schools. 

** Notre Dame football is independent, the school is an ACC Member for all other sports.

We didn’t just make this stuff up … see our page on methodology and sources of information.  Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com  Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke CPA, Washington, DC