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Clemson defeated Alabama in the college football championship on Monday night. While the immediate reward is glory and a big trophy. The bigger reward will come later, in the former of more revenue, which could ultimately narrow the gap with football's richest schools.
Off the field, the Crimson Tide currently have a huge advantage over Clemson. Last year, the University of Alabama generated $103.9 million in revenue from their football team alone. That was second only to the University of Texas ($121.1 million, which includes their own television network) and up 95% since Nick Saban took over the program in 2007.
Meanwhile, the Clemson football team generated $45.9 million in revenue last year, less than half of Alabama's total. That ranked 28th in the country and is up just 30% since Dabo Swinney was named head coach in 2009. However, now that Clemson is back to winning championships, that gap should narrow and it could make staying on top a lot easier.
Cork Gaines/Business Insider
