On Thursday, Penn State Athletics released its latest NCAA financial report for the 2024-25 fiscal year, covering July 2024 to June 2025. The Nittany Lions increased both expenses and revenue from 2023-24, with the College Football Playoff run to thank.

In 2025, Penn State generated $254.9 million in operating revenue, $34.1 million more than the previous year. The three major revenue components, totaling over $150 million, were ticket sales, contributions, and media rights.

The Nittany Lions made over $50.3 million from tickets in the 2024-25 fiscal year, $44 million of which came from the football team. Wrestling, men’s ice hockey, and basketball also contributed over $1.5 million. The biggest money maker on the women’s side of ticket sales was the women’s volleyball team, generating $202,374.

According to Sportico, the Nittany Lions were behind both Michigan, which generated $67.6 million in football ticket sales, and Ohio State, which generated $67 million. Despite Penn State averaging the second-highest attendance in the country during that time, over 108,000, the Nittany Lions were also behind Texas and Texas A&M.

Media rights generated $58,500,009. This is split between football, $49,725,008, and men’s basketball, $8,775,001.

Penn State also reported a total operating expense of $254,643,919, over $200,000 less than the reported revenue. The largest factor of this was the $43,458,097 spent on coaching salaries, benefits, and bonuses. The largest salary comes from former football coach James Franklin.

Franklin and the football staff also received over $4 million from the College Football Playoff run. The postseason also contributed an additional $7 million to postseason expenses and $2.5 million to pay for the home playoff game against SMU.

The school also reported $18,368,391 spent on NIL during the fiscal year, with nine different teams using it. The football team led the way again, using $13,338,959. Men’s basketball and wrestling were the only two other sports to use over $1 million.

Out of the nine teams that paid players under the NIL rules, five went on to make their respective final fours. The women’s volleyball and wrestling teams won national championships, while the football, men’s hockey, and men’s lacrosse teams all fell in the semifinals.

Folks who want to crunch their own numbers can find the full report here.