Report: Alabama football turned $45.9M profit in 2017

It appears winning the national championship is a very lucrative business, as an open-records request obtained by Michael Casagrande of AL.com shows Alabama football turned a $45.9-million profit in 2017.

The Crimson Tide's total revenue for football was $108.2 million, an increase from the $103.9 million the program made in 2016.

While $45.9 million is a staggering figure, it's actually $1.8 million lower than the program's 2016 profit due to rising expenses over that time span.

The figures for the football team were released along with the total athletics department numbers for the school, which showed a $15.6-million profit with $174.3 million in revenue for the 2017 calendar year.

While Alabama's financial figures are large, they still pale in comparison to what Texas made during the last fiscal year. The Longhorns' athletic department became the first Division I public school to top the $200-million mark in both operating revenue and expenses.