MSU has been one of the most successful football programs in recent history. Back-to-back top-five finishes and a trip to the College Football Playoff this season has paid its dividends for the Spartans.
According to Forbes' 'College Football's Most Valuable Teams 2015' list, the Spartans have the 19th most valuable football program in the country.
The team's value is $67 million, according to the list, having earned $59 million in revenue in 2014 and $32 million in profits.
"College football teams obviously can’t be bought or sold, so there’s no use in considering what they might go for on the open market like we do with our NFL valuations," the site read. "But they are of serious value to their universities, athletic departments, conferences and even local economies, which get a sizable boost from fans traveling to home football games.
"We combine money generated in those four areas — university value, for example, consists of academic support in the form of football scholarships and direct university contributions — in the 2014-15 season to get a snapshot of just how valuable each team is. Revenue and expense data comes from annual financial reports made to the Department of Education; value to the local economy is measured by economic impact studies."
MSU checks in as the fourth most valuable program in the Big Ten. Michigan was No. 5 with a value of $105 million, Ohio State was No. 7 with a value of $100 million and Penn State was No. 11 with a value of $81 million.
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