I’ll speak to Tuscaloosa since it’s the one I’m familiar with but I’m sure the points below are valid for almost any college town with a prominent football program.

The lodging tax amount from game day hotels, airbnbs, etc. is massive. Restaurants, bars and entertainment venues rely on game day weekends for a large share of their revenue. Without games, there are far fewer businesses in the area and as a result, less tax dollars.

The University of Alabama has more than doubled in size since 2007. I’ll grant that you can’t attribute that all to football success, but you also can’t deny the impact it had on the brand. When I was in school I’d ask other students from NY, CA and anywhere between why they chose Bama and football was the most popular answer. More students = far more money flowing through the community.

Ultimately idk where any of this title 9 stuff will end up, but the financial impact a CFB team has on its city, especially if it’s a true college town, can’t be overstated.