Louisville City Wire

Jefferson County's four colleges invested $33,215,961 on their football teams in 2023, a 5.1% decrease in funding from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

This represents 19.6% of all money invested on sport teams at the four colleges in the county during 2023.

The average sports expenses at Jefferson County have grown 88.9% since 2010.

University of Louisville stood out as the university in Jefferson County which received the most football funding during 2023. The institution received $33,215,961 — or 100% of all the money destined to football teams.

College football is one of the biggest sports in the U.S., with some college teams eclipsing NFL teams in terms of attendance and profit.

In 2022, after a decades-long fight, student athletes nationwide gained the right to profit from their names, likenesses, and images as a result of a flurry of new state laws and an NCAA policy change.

Year	Football Team's Expenditures	% from grand total sport team expenditures
2023	$33,215,961	19.6%
2022	$34,994,931	22.6%
2021	$23,075,717	18.8%
2020	$26,694,575	17.8%
2019	$44,057,106	27.7%