UCF Knights Football Revenue: A Deep Dive into Growth and Future Investments
The UCF Knights football program has experienced significant financial growth, particularly following its entry into the Big 12 Conference. This article delves into the various revenue streams, expenses, and future financial strategies of the program, highlighting its commitment to supporting student-athletes and maintaining competitiveness.
Landmark Revenue in Fiscal Year 2025
UCF's athletics department reported a record $108.89 million in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year. This represents a substantial increase from the $98.16 million reported in 2024. While expenses also increased, rising from $97.45 million to $103.62 million, the department still managed to generate a surplus. However, a university spokesman clarified that the reported $5.27 million surplus is due to presentation and classification differences and does not reflect the full financial statements, or the actual operating surplus or spendable cash.
Key Revenue Streams
Contributions
Contributions to the athletics department saw a dramatic increase, skyrocketing by more than 80% to $27.9 million, up from $15.4 million in 2024. A significant portion of this, $23.8 million, directly benefited the football program, including funding for the Roth Tower construction project. This surge in contributions is attributed to the efforts of the fundraising and ChargeOn Fund teams, led by UCF’s vice president and director of athletics, Terry Mohajir.
Ticket Sales
Ticket sales revenue also experienced growth, increasing by approximately 9.6%, which translates to $739,132. Football ticket sales contributed significantly to this increase, reflecting the program's popularity and fan support.
Big 12 Distributions
As a member of the Big 12 Conference, UCF receives distributions from the league. In 2025, the school received nearly $2 million more in distributions compared to the previous year. UCF is set to become a full-share member starting in the 2026-27 season, which will further boost its revenue. In UCF's first fiscal year as Big 12 members (2023-24), the university received nearly $21 million in revenue. Full-share payout figures that year ranged from $37.8 million to $42.1 million, according to the league's federal tax records. The Big 12 announced a $558 million distribution at the league's spring meetings in May, split among its 16 members.
Read also: Traditions of UCF Basketball
Expenses
Coaching Salaries
Coaching salaries, including benefits and bonuses, topped the list of expenses for UCF’s athletics department, totaling $19.2 million. This represents an increase of just over 9% from the previous year, reflecting the investment in attracting and retaining top coaching talent.
Other Expenses
Other notable expenses include recruiting, which rose to $2.23 million, and team travel, which totaled over $6 million. These increases highlight the growing costs associated with maintaining a competitive athletics program.
Exit Fee
UCF also paid a $2.5 million exit fee to the American Athletic Conference as part of its departure to the Big 12 in 2023.
Revenue Sharing with Student-Athletes
A significant development in college sports is the introduction of revenue sharing with student-athletes. Starting July 1, universities can directly pay athletes a share of revenue generated from ticket sales, TV broadcasts, and other commercial activities. This revenue sharing is distinct from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, which allow athletes to profit from their personal brand through endorsements and sponsorships.
House Settlement
The House settlement, a 10-year agreement, mandates that the NCAA distribute $2.8 billion in back payments to former and current student-athletes who were unable to profit from NIL agreements between 2016 and 2024. Additionally, schools will share a portion of their revenue with athletes, capped at $20.5 million for the upcoming year, increasing 4% annually.
Read also: Building a Competitive UCF Team
UCF's Commitment
UCF athletics remains committed to fully funding rev share at the maximum allowable level for 2026-27. Thanks to the generosity of Knight Nation, along with enhanced revenues from ticketing, sponsorship and the Big 12, UCF was able to make the departmental decision to fully fund the maximum amount allowed under the House settlement guidelines for 2025-26 while also providing expanded scholarship support for Olympic Sports, ensuring comprehensive investment across all sports. UCF was able to make the departmental decision to fully fund the maximum amount allowed under the House settlement guidelines for 2025-26. Terry Mohajir has remained steadfast in the school's commitment as full-share members for 2025-26 and beyond.
How Revenue Sharing Works at UCF
Under the new model, the UCF Athletics Association will pay its athletes directly, a shift from the previous system where third-party organizations administered payments. Athletes can still profit from their NIL through business ventures, endorsements, and sponsorships outside of revenue-sharing payments. However, all deals exceeding $600 in value must go before a national clearinghouse, operated by Deloitte and empowered by the Power Four commissioners. Any NIL deal valuations that do not meet the range of compensation could be charged to a school's rev-share cap to prevent circumvention.
Allocation of Revenue Sharing
Football and men's basketball are expected to generate the majority of UCF's revenue, accounting for about 90% of future revenue-sharing. Women's basketball is expected to receive another 5%, with the remaining 5% split between the school's other sports.
Components of UCF's Revenue-Sharing Cap
Direct NIL payments will constitute the largest portion of the cap. Each institution can allocate up to $2.5 million annually in education-based financial awards as permitted under the NCAA vs. Alston Supreme Court case in 2021. New scholarships, exceeding previous limits, can also count up to $2.5 million per year.
PayPal Partnership
The Big 12 has partnered with PayPal to facilitate these payments to athletes. This five-year partnership, worth a reported figure of just under $100 million, aims to streamline the process of distributing funds to student-athletes.
Read also: Sound and Spirit of UCF
Third-Party NIL Compensation
Beyond the capped $20.5 million that UCF can provide in institutional support, student-athletes also have the opportunity to earn third-party NIL compensation above the cap, subject to College Sports Commission approval. Orlando’s business community plays an important role in expanding NIL opportunities for UCF student-athletes.
Corporate Partnership
Becoming a corporate partner through UCF Sports Properties provides access to powerful marketing platforms for your brand message through UCF athletics game day assets and multimedia platforms.
Corporate Donor
Includes tailored philanthropic opportunities for corporate partners looking for community impact or brand visibility through NIL.
Third-party NIL can play a huge role in shaping programs over the next decade. Knight Nation has always been our greatest competitive advantage: bold, innovative, and ready to Charge On.
Valuation of UCF Football
Amidst college sports' flirtation with private equity, a report from The Athletic's Matt Baker "used real-life pro transactions to gauge purchase prices relative to a team’s revenue over the past three available years of data" to determine a valuation for every Power Four football team. UCF was valued at $210 million, the 59th-highest valued Power Four team and 13th-highest in the Big 12. The Knights come in behind two SEC teams, Mississippi State at $250 million, the same price as a WNBA expansion fee, and Vanderbilt at $228 million. However, they are valued more than Stanford ($202 million) and Kansas ($197 million) despite having a lower average football revenue. Compared to the other recent Group of Five to Power Four movers, UCF is the second-most valued after BYU ($306 million). The Knights are $32 million more valuable than SMU ($178 million), almost double the value of Cincinnati ($106 million) and 2.3 times more valuable than Houston, the least-valued Power Four program at $91 million.
Future Investments
Football Campus Project
UCF’s new Football Campus Project, including the Roth Tower expansion at FBC Mortgage Stadium and the Sharon and Marc Hagle Gateway, is expected to be completed before the 2026 football season. This project represents a significant investment in the program's infrastructure and is expected to enhance the game-day experience for fans and players alike.
Competitive Success Fund
Your continued commitment through recurring donations to the Competitive Success Fund is critical to sustaining this level of support. While department-generated support is essential, we know in order to maximize our opportunities at the highest level, we must continue to build on the strength of Knight Nation and Orlando’s business community.
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