Louisville basketball made more money last year than 3 NBA Teams

[SupaManu]

Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals have made the NCAA Tournament just once in the past three seasons—a second-round exit in 2017—and have been mired in the fallout from a prostitution scandal and FBI investigation. But they rank No. 1 on our list, and no college basketball team makes more money. Louisville turned $23 million in profit last year, making it more profitable than the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.

Didnt know they were making money like this

And the athletes can't get a check...

not every NCAA sports make money
where do you think those get their money from?

It's amazing how many people on here don't realize this. Because of title IX you have to have a female athletic scholarship for every male one, and i would be surprised if any female sport doesn't lose money, on top of that most male sports lose money as well. Football and men's basketball are the only two that usually make money and they are used to fund the rest of the athletic dept.

[2Mas]

Earning more money than NBA and still not paying a single penny to all em young poor players.

Is that how 21st century slavery looks like?

1. Some college players are paid a lot of money to play. DeAndre Ayton or his family was paid $100,000.00 for instance.
2. No. It's not slavery at all. Nobody is making anyone play college basketball. If you don't like the deal, don't play.

I hate the slavery takes to college. Please stop that. its just tossed around so lightly.

Yes Ayton was paid $100k for going to Arizona last year. IS that a problem? Do ppl have an issue with that? I'm sure some do, but most don't. We know that these guys are privately being paid, so just make it public & no one can complain anymore.

No the Arizona walk on for the swim team shouldn't get the same amount of $ as Ayton. If Ayton went to AZ St cause they offered him $350k, then he should go if he wants that. If he took $100k from Arizona, good. He deserves that.

[HMFFL]

The Louisville basketball arena is very impressive too. It's top notch and is better than a couple of older NBA arenas.

Sent from my SM-N920P using RealGM mobile app

[Jabroni Lames]

Didnt know they were making money like this

And the athletes can't get a check...

not every NCAA sports make money
where do you think those get their money from?

Exactly. People seem to forget that universities like U of Louisville are non-profit institutions and that money is going toward a lot of good things for their students and the community - like funding other non-revenue sports, building facilities, various programs, etc.

People act like there are fat cat billionaires at the top of these colleges/the NCAA collecting all the cash and riding around their yachts while the school and its students get nothing - the NCAA is like a giant booster organization - I think people would have a lot less problems with this stuff if they’d think of it that way.

But does an athletic director really need to be making $1.2M per year in a non-profit institution? That's just one guy in the university. They have scores of people in the 100K and above range. Those people aren't generating that revenue. Some of that money should be going to the players.

[sp6r=underrated]

Its all profit when you don't have to pay players lol

lol if you think major college athletic programs aren't paying players.

College players at top programs would be paid a lot more than currently if compensation was above board.

[NBAFan93]

not every NCAA sports make money
where do you think those get their money from?

Exactly. People seem to forget that universities like U of Louisville are non-profit institutions and that money is going toward a lot of good things for their students and the community - like funding other non-revenue sports, building facilities, various programs, etc.

People act like there are fat cat billionaires at the top of these colleges/the NCAA collecting all the cash and riding around their yachts while the school and its students get nothing - the NCAA is like a giant booster organization - I think people would have a lot less problems with this stuff if they’d think of it that way.

But does an athletic director really need to be making $1.2M per year in a non-profit institution? That's just one guy in the university. They have scores of people in the 100K and above range. Those people aren't generating that revenue. Some of that money should be going to the players.

It sounds like a lot, but there is a lot of responsibly involved in a position like being an athletic director of a large D1 school. Same deal w/ being the president of a university. Heck the athletic director at my kids high school makes six figures - think the last time I saw the amount it was near $150K...that was several years ago, probably even more now.

[Prince187]

Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals have made the NCAA Tournament just once in the past three seasons—a second-round exit in 2017—and have been mired in the fallout from a prostitution scandal and FBI investigation. But they rank No. 1 on our list, and no college basketball team makes more money. Louisville turned $23 million in profit last year, making it more profitable than the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.

Didnt know they were making money like this

And the athletes can't get a check...

Interesting how you look at it. I'd say this shows that NBA players are getting paid way too much

[Lalouie]

what about duke, unc, and kentucky? they must have doubled that. more tv, probably better shoe deals

[Michael Jordan]

Louisville Accountant: The books are all balances except for this 3 million dollar expense that I don't have an invoice for.

Louisville: Expense it to player salar- I mean player development

[HotTubMike]

Earning more money than NBA and still not paying a single penny to all em young poor players.

Is that how 21st century slavery looks like?

1. Some college players are paid a lot of money to play. DeAndre Ayton or his family was paid $100,000.00 for instance.
2. No. It's not slavery at all. Nobody is making anyone play college basketball. If you don't like the deal, don't play.

I hate the slavery takes to college. Please stop that. its just tossed around so lightly.

Yes Ayton was paid $100k for going to Arizona last year. IS that a problem? Do ppl have an issue with that? I'm sure some do, but most don't. We know that these guys are privately being paid, so just make it public & no one can complain anymore.

No the Arizona walk on for the swim team shouldn't get the same amount of $ as Ayton. If Ayton went to AZ St cause they offered him $350k, then he should go if he wants that. If he took $100k from Arizona, good. He deserves that.

I have no problem with colleges paying elite recruits. I think they all do it.

I don't like being lied to by the college sports media and the schools when they talk about recruiting. They all know it's about players or their families being paid and they just sit there and ignore it or gloss over it. It's disingenuous and intellectually insulting.

Like, lets be real, these kids are getting paid to attend these programs. There is no doubt.

No not the guys at the end of the bench or the guys on the track team. I'm talking about the contributors on major mens college basketball teams and football teams.

[HotTubMike]

Its all profit when you don't have to pay players lol

lol if you think major college athletic programs aren't paying players.

College players at top programs would be paid a lot more than currently if compensation was above board.

Probably but I think if you're being honest/fair it should be acknowledged there is a lot of dirty money in college recruiting going to the players/families.

[sp6r=underrated]

lol if you think major college athletic programs aren't paying players.

College players at top programs would be paid a lot more than currently if compensation was above board.

Probably but I think if you're being honest/fair it should be acknowledged there is a lot of dirty money in college recruiting going to the players/families.

a lot of the dirty money comes from alumni acting independently of the u.

[HotTubMike]

College players at top programs would be paid a lot more than currently if compensation was above board.

Probably but I think if you're being honest/fair it should be acknowledged there is a lot of dirty money in college recruiting going to the players/families.

a lot of the dirty money comes from alumni acting independently of the u.

Yes and from the schools sports apparel sponsors (Adidas.. Nike ... etc) but the coaches know what's going on/directing who gets paid.

[benson13]

Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals have made the NCAA Tournament just once in the past three seasons—a second-round exit in 2017—and have been mired in the fallout from a prostitution scandal and FBI investigation. But they rank No. 1 on our list, and no college basketball team makes more money. Louisville turned $23 million in profit last year, making it more profitable than the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.

Didnt know they were making money like this

And the athletes can't get a check...

Profit is not income. The Cavaliers payroll is probably higher than Louisville’s total revenue.

[XxIronChainzxX]

not every NCAA sports make money
where do you think those get their money from?

Exactly. People seem to forget that universities like U of Louisville are non-profit institutions and that money is going toward a lot of good things for their students and the community - like funding other non-revenue sports, building facilities, various programs, etc.

People act like there are fat cat billionaires at the top of these colleges/the NCAA collecting all the cash and riding around their yachts while the school and its students get nothing - the NCAA is like a giant booster organization - I think people would have a lot less problems with this stuff if they’d think of it that way.

But does an athletic director really need to be making $1.2M per year in a non-profit institution? That's just one guy in the university. They have scores of people in the 100K and above range. Those people aren't generating that revenue. Some of that money should be going to the players.

That's also one of the ways you make it revenue neutral. You also do it by spending money frivolously.

But more to the point, who cares if the end result of all of this is that a water polo team is not getting a world class facility? It's a hobby. School should be about an education.

[Black Mage]

Meanwhile, the Louisville Cardinals have made the NCAA Tournament just once in the past three seasons—a second-round exit in 2017—and have been mired in the fallout from a prostitution scandal and FBI investigation. But they rank No. 1 on our list, and no college basketball team makes more money. Louisville turned $23 million in profit last year, making it more profitable than the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets.

Didnt know they were making money like this

And the athletes can't get a check...

With that kind of record and history it speaks volumes about the stupidity of collegiate Alma mater loyalty.

[Metallikid]

Strip the NCAA of every possible way they can make money. F U C K 'EM.

[NBAFan93]

Strip the NCAA of every possible way they can make money. F U C K 'EM.

And then when college tuition doubles in a lot of these schools and there are no more scholarships or nice facilities for any college athletes of any sport, what then?

All cause a few future millionaires had to play basketball without getting paid for six months?

[JN61]

Good. They can support their other programs with money they make and offer better education.

[udfa]

The corruption that is the NCAA boggles the mind. That said, this stat tells only a fraction of the profit story. Louisville basketball is ultimately just a department of the public institution that is the University of Louisville. Although it functions analogously to an NBA team, it is not itself an asset. The Louisville basketball program might be abstractly valued at some amount but that valuation is only academic. The Cavs, Thunder and Hornets are each billion dollar assets that owned by proprietors and could be sold at any moment or retained and continue to appreciate in value. Dan Gilbert bought the Cavs in 2005 for under $400 million and the franchise is now valued at over $1 billion. This is the real secret of the wealth that is created by the NBA. The CBA splits the "basketball related income" of the league between the players and owners, but the value of the franchises belong to the owners alone. Franchise value, like all of the rest of the value of the league, is ultimately generated by the players and they see absolutely none of it.

It should also be borne in mind that NBA franchise payrolls are rather cyclical and OKC plus Cleveland were in a high spending phase of the cycle. Cleveland has been spending big on its roster to fuel its LeBron led teams but now that LeBron is gone that spending can be curtailed, perhaps not next year because they're carrying one final year on several large contracts but the following year it could drop by $30 million.