College football is raking in the money, especially after the move to a playoff system, and that has some athletes wondering why they’re not paid. USA Today‘s Steve Berkowitz reported Tuesday that the SEC made $527.4 million in total revenue for the fiscal year ending in August 2015, a 60 per cent rise over the previous fiscal year. That’s more than half the $906 million in revenue the NCAA as an organization reported on its most recent tax return, for the fiscal year ending August 2014. The SEC also ended the year with a $17.2 million surplus (the highest since 2008’s $7.2 million), and the reports of its revenue didn’t thrill some athletes; Florida defensive back Jalen Tabor called it “modern day slavery” on Twitter (screenshot below as it was deleted not long after)
Tabor would offer this half apology on the matter after it blew up on social media.
Went to far with the slavery thing and I apologize , can't let my emotions get to me . But y'all get the message
— Teez Tabor (@_31Flavorz) January 20, 2016
It’s interesting that the SEC in particular is strong and seemingly getting stronger. The conference announced a record distribution to schools of $455.8 million ($31.2 million per schools) at spring meetings last May, and while its distribution numbers are done at a different time than the fiscal year and tax return, it would make sense for those to be even higher this year given the rising revenues. It’s also amazing how much the revenues have risen over time; this is a nice 60 per cent jump from the fiscal year ending in August 2014 (which is thanks to this being the first full fiscal year where the SEC got revenue from the SEC Network and the College Football Playoff), but it’s even more remarkable when you compare it to the fiscal year ending in August 2009, where the SEC’s total revenue was just under $150 million. Six years later, the conference is making three and a half times as much money annually.
Where’s the money coming in from? Berkowitz notes the SEC reported $311.8 million in radio and television rights, a boost of almost 50 per cent over the previous fiscal year’s $210.4 million, and the SEC Network is a big part of that. That network has managed to gain tremendous distribution and fan loyalty, and it’s bringing in the money in a substantial way. The College Football Playoff is helping a lot too, though; the conference reported $162.8 million in revenue from postseason events (bowls and playoffs) in fiscal 2015, a jump of 65 per cent over last year’s $98.6 million. It did spend three times as much on postseason events, but that only raised its spending to $27.5 million, so there’s still a rise of $62.4 million in those revenues and just a rise of $18.2 million in the costs, leaving a net gain of $44.2 million.
While athletes like Tabor see no benefit from these increased numbers, conference executives most certainly do. Outgoing SEC commissioner Mike Slive, who retired in June 2015, received almost $3.6 million in base compensation in fiscal 2014-15 (and total compensation of $3,655,576). That base compensation is over 75 per cent above what he drew in the previous fiscal year, and it’s more than three times what he landed in 2012. So, conference networks and the playoff have been very, very good for high-ranking officials like Slive. For athletes like Tabor? Not so much…
