Texas and Texas A&M may now be in the same conference, but they’re still in different tax brackets when it comes to revenue, expenses and the money it takes to run Southeastern Conference athletic departments.

Financial figures obtained by A to Z Sports through open records requests detailing the 2023-24 athletic year show key disparities between the two programs.

Does more money make for a better athletic department? The answer probably depends on whether you wear burnt orange or maroon.

The Longhorns generated almost $332 million in revenue during the 2024 fiscal year while the Aggies generated $266.4 million.

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To no surprise, the Longhorns spend more; they’ve always been one of the highest-spending athletic departments in the nation. Texas athletics spent $325 million while the Aggies spent $243.7 million.

Both athletic departments finished with a surplus for the fiscal year, according to their own figures. Texas was approximately $7 million in the black while A&M’s surplus was $22.7 million.

Texas won the Learfield Directors’ Cup after the 2023-24 athletic year. The Directors’ Cup is presented annually to the most successful athletic program in America based on cumulative scoring across a variety of sports. Texas A&M finished sixth that year. It was the Aggies’ best finish in more than a decade and tied for second-highest in program history.

Both programs need football to thrive financially. It’s how they fund their entire operations.

Texas generated $205 million in football revenue during the 2023-24 athletic year. The Horns won the Big 12 championship during the 2023 football season.

Meanwhile, the Aggies generated just $118.5 million in football revenue over the same period, according to A&M’s own figures.

The Horns reported that men’s basketball also turned a profit of $7.7 million. Historically, football, men’s basketball and baseball are the only UT sports that finish profitable. A&M’s men’s basketball team lost $2.1 million. Many Division I basketball programs are not profitable as financial entities.

The Horns have always won the T-shirt battle. UT generated approximately $69 million in licensing, royalties and sponsorships. A&M reported $31.6 million in the same category. 

The biggest financial anchor around A&M’s neck is Jimbo Fisher’s $77-million buyout, easily the biggest on record for any coach at any school.

According to the terms of Fisher’s contract, he was owed $19.3 million within 60 days of his termination. The Aggies reported a line item of $27,225,391 in money paid to “severance payments” for the fiscal year. That included a $5 million payment to Duke University to get Mike Elko. The payment was spelled out in Elko’s contract approved by the Texas A&M System.

In addition to the $19.3 million payment, Fisher will receive an annual payment worth $7.2 million through 2031. Those figures are likely to be reflected in future fiscal reports.

The Aggies can afford the Fisher expenditure as long as donors keep pouring into A&M’s coffers and the SEC’s TV money flows in College Station. A&M reported $88.6 million in donations during the 2024 fiscal year and $30.7 million in conference distributions.