Alabama's 2012/13 athletic revenues exceed all 30 NHL teams

It's no surprise that there's a lot of money to be made in college sports. Just not if you're a player (yet).

It seems strange for a college athletics program to generate more money than a professional sports organization, let alone every single team in a single league.

But that's exactly what Alabama's athletic department did when their 2012/13 revenues eclipsed all 30 NHL teams and 25 of the 30 NBA teams, according to Marc Edelman, an associate professor at City University of New York.

Alabama's revenues last season totaled $143 million, just $1 million more than the NHL's highest earner, the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Forbes.com.

There are seven teams, including the Maple Leafs, with reported revenues that exceed $100 million, but major programs, such as Florida ($129 million), Ohio State ($123 million) and Michigan ($122 million) would rank in the top six among the league's highest earners.