The Stanford Cardinal have not played in a college football bowl game since Dec. 31, 2018. In the following years, they’ve flailed and fallen behind the 8-ball in this modern NIL world. Andrew Luck returned in 2024 as the general manager of college football operations to try to resurrect the program. Nearly 1 year later, he has made some headway.
On Wednesday, Stanford announced former player and trustee Bradford M. Freeman donated $50 million to the Cardinal football program. The move comes with the football team already showing progress on the field under interim coach Frank Reich.
“We are deeply grateful to Brad for this extraordinary commitment to Stanford football. His generosity comes at a pivotal time and puts us in position to build a championship-caliber program,” Cardinal athletic director John Donahoe, who took the position in early September, said in a press release. “Brad’s belief in the future of our program strengthens not only football but the foundation of excellence that defines Stanford Athletics.”
According to ESPN, the donation is the largest individual gift not tied to a facility in Stanford football history.
“With Brad’s incredible gift, we are positioned to win on the field and build a bridge to a sustainable future for Stanford football,” Luck added. “The ability to support our players through new scholarships and institutional NIL will reinforce Stanford as the preeminent place in the country to be a football scholar-athlete. I believe that Stanford has the opportunity to be a leading program in college football, and we are entirely motivated to field championship-caliber teams.”
The Cardinal entered the 2025 season with one of the lowest projected win totals of any Power 4 team. Their line was set at 3.5 wins (BetMGM). They stand at 2-3 (1-1 ACC) through 6 weeks. If the Cardinal can beat Bill Belichick and the struggling North Carolina Tar Heels on Nov. 8, they’d only need 1 other victory to cash their over.
Stanford battles SMU at 12:00 p.m. ET (The CW) on Oct. 11 in Week 7.
