Alabama athletics department operated at massive loss in 2024 after Saban retirement

The University of Alabama had a tough year on the football field in the wake of the retirement of Nick Saban. But the bottom line was more unfortunate than the losses.

According to a report from Bama247, the athletics department operated at a near $28 million loss in 2024 with a bulk of the expenses related to the coaching search upon Saban’s exit.

Total operating revenues were a staggering $234 million, but total operating expenses added up to $262 million.

According to the story, the school released a statement clarifying that numerous one-time expenses from coaching transition were responsible for the negative margin. In total, the football program made only a $26.4 million profit after bringing in $46 million in 2023 and $52 million in 2022.

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The total expenses did not reflect a loss of revenue generated. In fact, the total revenue generated increased from $129 million in 2023 to $140 million in 2024. But the gap in operating expenses went up tremendously from $83 million to $113 million.

To no one’s surprise, the numbers for every other sport were minuscule in comparison to football. Men’s basketball made $5.9 million, down slightly from 2023 as well, due to a roughly $3 million increase in operation expenses.

Every other sport combined reported over $25 million in losses, featuring a total of $65 million in total coaches’ salaries, including football, and $41 million in support staff compensation.

It certainly is not cheap to run the best athletics program in the country. According to the latest publicly-available figures, the University of Alabama spares no expense in order to deliver their students, fans, and alumni the best experience possible.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.