<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2m6PAm_1H1gloHA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2m6PAm_1H1gloHA00" width="1200" height="801" ><figcaption>Westside senior London Dada signed his college letter of intent to Creighton University on November 11 2026. Student athletes entering college become part of a value-driven market.</figcaption></figure>College athletes can be a major source of revenue for a university, and they are often judged by their ability to be such. How, then, are their influence, performance, and other important factors accounted for when interested parties try to determine their overall value? Former Omaha Westside High School graduate, North Dakota State University Bison, and now NFL quarterback Cole Payton, could not have described this idea better. “I would define the ‘value’ of a college athlete as their character + ability,” Payton said. “Does this athlete have the right mindset, work ethic, etc.?”Payton’s definition is a great way to begin to explain the rather advanced topic of an athlete’s “worth”. To examine it further, we have to ask questions like can worth be decided monetarily? Or how do data and statistics matter? When all things are considered a core question remains: Can we really measure the value of a college athlete?To answer briefly, yes. However, there are many variables that influence the true value of an athlete, ultimately leading to the use of an equation to efficiently balance them all: AV = R(wfF + wnN + wtT + wpP).Financial Value (F)College athletics generates billions of dollars every year through a combination of media deals, ticket sales, and more. According to Texas Tech University, “TV Contracts &amp; Media Rights [are] the largest source of revenue for major programs”. Additionally, “successful teams drive attendance, increasing revenue from ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise.” Another large revenue source comes from conference distributions and payouts, which depend on participation, specific arrangements, and media agreements. Sponsorships and agreements such as partnerships are huge, but we will dive deeper into that later. For now, let us look at some numbers that demonstrate said revenue:A February 2026 The Athletic article by Scott Dochterman claimed that the Big Ten conference’s “16 public athletic departments reported about $3.118 billion in revenue” in the 2025 fiscal year. Ohio State alone generated “more than $300 million in athletics”.However, an interesting development happened as a result of the 2025 House v. NCAA settlement. It was decided that college athletes would be able to get direct compensation from their universities. Thus, during the 2025-2026 academic year, schools were initially permitted to distribute up to $20.5 million to their athletes. This means that the schools get to share part of their revenue with their athletes. While the total school spending amounts are tracked by the College Sports Commission (CSC), individual deals are protected by student privacy laws. To measure an athlete’s share of revenue in this equation, use their individual contribution and the team’s revenue: estimated financial worth = team revenue × participation percentage. The participation percentage is the athlete’s playing time divided by the available playing time of the team. For example, say a team plays a 60 minute game in which five players compete at once, and generates $100 in revenue. The total participation is 300 minutes because five players will each be participating for 60 minutes. If one player plays for 30 minutes, their estimated financial value is (100)(30/300) which equals $10. *Note: The estimate assumes that each minute of participation contributes equally to team revenue and therefore is not an exact calculation.*NIL ValueAt this point, an abbreviation has probably begun to float in one’s mind: NIL. This stands for name, image, and likeness, and is, quite fittingly, the next way athletes can earn “value”. While both result in direct financial compensation to athletes, NIL is paid for by third-party entities such as brands and businesses. This is separate from the $20.5 million in compensation that comes directly from the educational institutions. Some examples of NIL deals include shoes, clothing, and electronics. The deals can range vastly, up to and including Arch Manning’s “whopping $5.4 million” in commercial value mentioned in a March 2026 ESPN article by Sara Coello. Lower profile athletes may not score big deals with well known companies, however they can still be involved in their local NIL market. The size of their school, acclaim of their sport, and existing team fan base are big factors of NIL opportunities as well. According to Syracuse University, brands are more attracted to athletes “who combine strong social media presences, business savvy and prowess on the field”. As athletes strengthen their marketability, engage with fans, and start generating popularity, their schools start to benefit as well. NIL still continues to grow rapidly, especially considering that it started from, in the words of Payton, “a cool way to connect with the community or a business and potentially get a little extra money”. UNO sophomore and tennis player Grace Greenwald describes the NIL landscape as having, “more and more opportunities available for athletes that can be utilized as much as said athlete wants to.” Payton believes, however, that colleges will start making regulations regarding “eligibility” to prevent athletes from unfairly continuing to get paid. When determining an athlete’s worth in NIL value, use the monetary amount of their NIL deal(s). If running back A has deals adding up to $10,000 and running back B has deals adding up to $5,000, running back A has two times the NIL value.Time ValueA different aspect that often gets overlooked is the commitment athletes themselves put into their sports. However, this is undoubtedly a large component of an athlete’s value. If an athlete chooses not to put work into the other parts of their life, then their athletics will quickly go downhill.Take Greenwald’s schedule for example: “During the regular season, we have practice Monday to Friday for two and a half hours. On top of that, we lift for an hour and a half two days a week. For practice and training alone, that is 15.5 hours in one week. Balancing homework and studying is difficult, but when there is more travel time, there is more time to focus attention elsewhere.” For Payton, he spent 100 hours per week on football-related activities when he was at North Dakota State. “If I wasn’t eating, sleeping, or spending some time with friends/family, it was all school and ball,” Payton explained. Since there are only 168 hours in a week, Payton had less than 10 hours per day to himself including sleep. Further, Payton explained that most fans do not understand how much time quarterbacks spend watching tapes in film and meeting rooms. Both of these athletes illustrate the substantial time commitment that goes into college sports. In the equation, for the number T, add up all the hours they dedicate to their sport in a week. Performance Based ValueFinally, regarding athlete performance, let’s discuss if statistics can measure “value”. Athletes who show consistency and numerical results are usually better options for a team or school’s success. Each sport has one or a few metrics that indicate superior performance. For example, a defining statistic for football players is EPA, the expected points they add to team score. Similarly, for soccer players, it is their expected goals and assists. For basketball players, a statistic is their true shooting percentage. For tennis, it can be their return points won or their unforced errors. In the equation, use two to three sport specific indicators to determine the value of P.Clearly, we can now determine that there are numerous factors that come into play when measuring an athlete’s worth. But still, we have yet to answer our core question: How should we measure the value of a college athlete? The EquationThere is no “one right answer”, but the data explored here can be turned into an equation. This model’s estimated multipliers and weights can create an estimated “value” for an athlete.AV = R(wfF + wnN + wtT + wpP).AV stands for athlete value score and R is the recruiting star multiplier. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2VKo9h_1H1gloHA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2VKo9h_1H1gloHA00" width="1700" height="518" ></figure>An athlete’s “interpretation” can be evaluated by comparing them to other athletes in their sport. F is financial value, N is NIL value, T is time value (commitment), and P is performance based value. Financial value can be measured by the calculated revenue share, NIL can be measured in money given by third parties, time can be measured in hours of commitment, and performance can be measured by sport-specific statistics. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2rzobm_1H1gloHA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2rzobm_1H1gloHA00" width="1782" height="632" ></figure>Finally, w is the sport specific weight. This weighting varies per sport because of popularity, competitiveness, and more. For example, football generates millions of dollars through ticket sales, while swimming is a low-viewer sport, thus the financial value weighting for football players will be much higher. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ZPqUv_1H1gloHA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ZPqUv_1H1gloHA00" width="1801" height="727" ></figure>Simply plug in the values for each variable to calculate a score ranging from 16 (needing some work) to 120 (exceptional). For example, let’s say there is an elite women’s volleyball player. Here’s how the quick calculation may look:AV = 1.20((90*0.15) + (90*0.30) + (90*0.20) + (90*0.35)) = 1.20(13.50 + 27.00 + 18.00 + 31.50) = 108.1.20 would be chosen as the recruitment star rating because of her prospect as an elite, high level athlete. The weights would be chosen (wf, wn, wt, wp) because she is a women’s volleyball athlete. 90 would be chosen if she was elite compared to her fellow volleyball players in regards to financial, time, NIL, and performance based value.As value calculations such as this one become more standardized, athletes can compare their own worth to others’. While the number does not correlate with a specific amount of money, given that factors such as time are calculated in hours not dollars, it does demonstrate their relative “worth”.Ultimately, a college athlete’s true value can no longer be measured by revenue alone. Instead, it is multifaceted: a combination of their performance, economic impact, influence, and effort. Using this equation, we can create a more comprehensive estimate of an athlete’s value. But the most important takeaway is not numerical: an athlete’s value will never define their personal worth. *Note: The athlete value equation is an illustrative model. All values, weights, and multipliers are proposed estimations rather than definite measures.*</div></body>

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College athletes can be a major source of revenue for a university, and they are often judged by their ability to be such. How, then, are their influence, performance, and other important factors accounted for when interested parties try to determine their overall value?. Former Omaha Westside High School graduate,...

What is a college athlete really worth?

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College athletes can be a major source of revenue for a university, and they are often judged by their ability to be such. How, then, are their influence, 

What is a college athlete really worth?

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