Chicago City Wire

Cook County's 27 colleges invested $44,956,365 on their football teams in 2024, an increase in funding from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

This represents 16.4% of all money invested on sport teams at the 27 colleges in the county during 2024.

The average sports expenses at Cook County have grown 119.6% since 2010.

Northwestern University stood out as the university in Cook County which received the most football funding during 2024. The institution received $39,114,872 ��� or 87% 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.

College athletes can now be paid directly by schools after a settlement approved in early July, which also requires the NCAA to pay $2.8 billion in back damages over 10 years to athletes who played from 2016 to the present. 

In 2022, after years of legal and legislative pressure, athletes also gained the right to profit from their names, images and likenesses through state laws and an NCAA policy change.

Year	Football Team's Expenditures	% from grand total sport team expenditures
2024	$44,956,365	16.4%
2023	$44,354,200	17.2%
2022	$38,876,660	16.6%
2021	$32,821,015	17%
2020	$36,189,435	16.3%

Information in this story was obtained from the U.S. Department of Education. The source data can be found here.