Call it the Steve Sarkisian charm or just plain Texas magic—either way, Longhorns football is flying high right now! For a while, only one college football team dominated the revenue game: the Colorado Buffaloes. Thanks to the Deion Sanders phenom, they had a financial boom like no other. But guess what? There’s a new contender in town.

Texas just shattered national records for both revenue and spending in athletics. Surprised? Of course! Just a while ago, their financial future looked shaky. But Sarkisian hit the gas, and now the Longhorns are raking in cash like never before.

Texas Athletics reaches new heights

Well, the 2024 season had been a rocky ride for the Longhorns fam. After all, Sarkisian had to deal with one of the biggest QB dilemmas. He faced a double-edged sword while playing Quinn Ewers and benching Arch Manning. Even when he played Manning, he got bashed online by a group of fans. However, he did protect the Longhorns’ wheel from falling off. And finally made it to the playoffs. But the Cotton Bowl turned out to be a big fail against Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes. The Sarkisian’s program might be all morose after the championship title slipped away. So, it’s time for some grand news to lift their spirits.

On January 28, Sports Business Journal posted, “The Univ. of Texas recorded $331.9M in revenue and $325M in expenses in FY24, marking the first time a D-I school reported more than $300M in both 📊.” This is the first time since the NCAA began its current reporting system in 2005 that a Division I public school has hit the $300 million mark. That too in both revenues and expenses in a single year. Good news for Sarkisian’s program and Texas’s athletics department. They have beaten Ohio State in a single-year spending that exceeded the Buckeyes’ $292.3 million. 

The program also made nearly $79 million from royalties, licensing, sponsorships, and advertising. The media rights deals earned them more than $21 million. Now that’s a lot, isn’t it? Hold on! Sarkisian’s football program brought in about $19 million in media rights revenue, while the men’s basketball team accounted for the remaining $2 million. Right now, the program is very happy. And what about Sarkisian? Well, he is the happiest! 

Steve Sarkisian’s loyalty paid him well 

The 2023 season had been a lot different for the Longhorns. After all, under Sarkisian’s rule, they had its long-awaited breakout season. They won the Big 12 and even made it to the College Football Playoffs for the first time. Impressed with Texas’ 12-win season, the University of Texas Board of Regents approved a contract extension for the HC. They decided that Sarkisian will be paid $10.3 million in 2024 and will begin a new seven-year agreement running through 2030.  This 4-year extension nearly doubled his base pay from $5.8 million to $10.3 million per year.

Not just this; from 2023, he is entitled to an increment of $100,000 each year of the deal. The deal also included two cars and 20 hours of private aircraft flight time per year. So, this year too, the HC was due to receive an automatic $100,000 bump. However, some more surprises awaited the HC.

While NFL suitors tried to lure away Steve Sarkisian, the HC chose to stay loyal to the Longhorns. As Brett McMurphy from the Action Network reported, the HC declined two interviews with NFL teams. No wonder he did reap some sweet fruits for his faithfulness.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte tacked four years onto Sarkisian’s initial 6-year deal and bumped the coach’s pay. In January 2025, he agreed to an extension. The new contract runs through the 2031 season, keeping Sarkisian tied to the school for seven years. That’s how the Longhorns locked their lucky charm from moving out.