Jan 20, 2018; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players Bradley Bozeman (75) and Anthony Averett (28) and Shaun Dion Hamilton (20) pose with head coach Nick Saban and College Football Playoff president Bill Hancock with the trophy at the Alabama Crimson Tide National Championship Celebration at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Photo Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Football continues to be a big money-maker at Alabama, which this season won the national championship for the fifth time in nine years.
According to documents obtained by AL.com, the Crimson Tide football program brought in $108.2 million in revenue and had a profit of $45.9 million in 2017.
The revenue was up by more than $4 million over 2016, but increased expenses brought the profit down by $1.8 million.
Alabama athletics overall had a total revenue of $174.3 million, according to the report, with a profit of $15.6 million. The revenue represents an increase over 2016, but the profit decreased.
Still, some schools took in more money than Alabama. USA Today reported that the University of Texas had $215 million in revenue in 2017.
The biggest source of athletic department revenue is TV contracts. Alabama reported $43.9 million in TV and related media revenue.
The university also brought in $32.9 million in contributions. It is speculated that contributions could decrease considerably in 2018 because of the new tax plan, which eliminates deductions from these contributions.
In the past, 80 percent of those contributions could be written off as charity donations.
