Media rights & conference revenue
NIL & revenue sharing · Coach pay & buyouts · Media rights & conference revenue · Deficits, subsidies & debt · Donors & endowments · Sources
Overview
Summary. Revenue at the top has roughly quadrupled since the mid-2000s. SEC schools averaged $66.8M and Big Ten schools $70.4M in total revenue in 2006-07 [S58]. In FY2025, Texas took in $352.5M and Ohio State $336.1M [S50][S51].
TV money drives it. The Big Ten brought in $1.47B and the SEC $1.11B in FY2025 [S52]. The new CFP contract (from 2026) pays ~$1.3B a year, with 58% going to those two leagues [S54]. Spending grows even faster. The GAO found 94% of D-I programs spent more than they generated in 2023-24, and schools covered a combined $7.2B of the gap [S45]. Deficits get covered by student fees and general-fund subsidies, especially outside the P4 [S46][S47].
Media rights and conference payouts
| Deal / distribution | Figure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEC-ESPN (Tier 1 CBS package moved to ESPN) | $3B / 10 yrs (~$300M/yr), vs CBS $55M/yr | from 2024 | [S57] |
| SEC total media value (SBJ) | ~$7.1B (~$710M/yr) | 2024-25 to 2033-34 | [S56] |
| Big Ten (Fox, CBS, NBC) | CONFLICT: $8.05B / 7 yrs (~$1.15B/yr) [S56] vs "$7 billion" [S52] | 2023-2030 | |
| Big 12 (ESPN, Fox) | $2.28B, 2025-26 to 2030-31 (~$31.7M/school/yr) | [S56] | |
| ACC (ESPN) | $4.8B / 20 yrs through 2036 (~$240M/yr) | [S56] | |
| CFP (ESPN), original | 12 yrs, $5.64B (~$470M/yr) | 2014-2025 | [S56] |
| CFP (ESPN), new | 6 yrs, $7.8B (~$1.3B/yr), about triple | 2026-2031 | [S54][S56] |
| New CFP split | SEC & Big Ten 29% each (~$22M/school); ACC 17% ($13-14M); Big 12 ~15% (~$12M); G5 9%; independents 1% (ND ~$12M). Previously ~$5M per P5 school | 2026+ | [S54] |
| CFP format 2026-27 | 12 teams retained | [S55] | |
| NCAA men's basketball tournament | $8.8B extension through 2032 (~$1.1B/yr) | [S56] | |
| Conference revenue FY2025 | Big Ten $1.47B (+$540M); SEC $1.11B (+$269M); ACC $826.5M; Big 12 $610.9M | FY2025 | [S52] |
| Per-school, Big Ten | 16 of 18 got >=$76M; OSU $91.6M; Oregon/Washington $46-48M | FY2025 | [S52] |
| Per-school, SEC | $1.03B distributed; avg $72.4M full share; Georgia $74.5M; OU $2.6M; Texas $12.1M | FY2025 | [S53][S52] |
| Per-school, ACC / Big 12 | most >=$42.8M (Clemson $55.1M) / most >=$37.9M (ASU $43M) | FY2025 | [S52] |
| SEC history | $122M total, $10.2M/school (2007); ~$31.2M/school (2015, headline only); $72.4M (FY2025) | [S58][S79][S53] |
Top department revenue and spending (latest)
| School | Revenue | Expenses | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $352.5M | $375.9M (record); debt $192.2M | FY2025 (to Aug 31, 2025) | [S50] |
| Ohio State | $336,077,887 (school record) | $320,394,965 | FY2025 | [S51] |
| Texas A&M | $266.4M / $243.7M | FY2024 | [S65] | |
| Texas A&M | - | $228.3M | FY2025 | [S50] |
| Penn State | - | $254.6M | FY2025 | [S71] |
| FY2024 spending leaders | Texas $325M; Ohio State $292.7M; Alabama $262.8M | FY2024 | [S50] | |
| Top of USA Today database | Ohio State $251.6M revenue | FY2022 | [S49] | |
| Texas in 2017-18 | $206.5M expenses (national high) | FY2018 | [S50] | |
| A full, current top-25 revenue table for FY2025 | UNAVAILABLE in open form. Knight-Newhouse has FY2025 data, but its bulk download is behind a request form I did not submit | [S48] |
Knight-Newhouse: public FBS school totals by conference, FY2025
Public schools only, as shown on the Knight-Newhouse FBS page (default FY2025 view, retrieved 2026-09-29).
| Conference (public FBS schools) | Total expenses, FY2025 | Total revenues, FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| FBS TOTAL as printed in this table (alternate presentation, see note) | $13,064,196,067 | $13,015,662,156 |
| American Athletic Conference | $650,778,138 | $679,668,603 |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | $1,536,091,870 | $1,493,171,552 |
| Big 12 Conference | $1,727,705,565 | $1,733,848,487 |
| Big Ten Conference | $3,139,614,974 | $3,118,338,007 |
| Conference USA | $328,723,870 | $321,621,858 |
| Mid-American Conference | $466,055,954 | $436,979,538 |
| Mountain West Conference | $805,226,580 | $853,136,957 |
| Pacific-12 Conference | $181,056,201 | $188,222,657 |
| Southeastern Conference | $3,382,033,775 | $3,359,998,578 |
| Sun Belt Conference | $665,994,741 | $639,166,859 |
Which FBS total we use: the site-wide FBS FY2025 figure is the documented S48 headline, $13.08B revenue and $13.03B expenses (the sum of the Knight-Newhouse category chart data; see Deficits, subsidies and debt). The FBS TOTAL row printed in this conference table ($13.02B revenue / $13.06B expenses) is a different presentation on the same page that we could not reconcile, and the ten conference rows do not add up to it. It is shown as printed, not used elsewhere. Details.
Per-school conference distributions and revenue histories: see each school page and the conference tables.
Sources cited on this page
- S45 · U.S. Government Accountability Office, “College Athletics: Most Programs Spend More Than They Generate in Revenue (GAO-26-108640)” (2026 (released early Aug 2026))
- S46 · Inside Higher Ed (Josh Moody), “GAO Report: Athletic Programs Bleed Money” (2026-08-07)
- S47 · Office of Sen. Maria Cantwell (advocacy document), “Unsustainable Growth in Spending for Sports... (snapshot, PDF, raw/)” (2026-09-15)
- S48 · Knight Commission / Syracuse Newhouse, “Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database: FBS page (data in raw/)” (accessed 2026-09-29 (FY2025 data))
- S49 · USA TODAY / Knight-Newhouse, “NCAA Finances: Revenue & Expenses by School (CSV in raw/)” (page updated 2024-03-14 (FY2021-22 data))
- S50 · Sportico (Daniel Libit), “Texas Sets New College Sports Spending Mark With $376M Spree” (2026-01-22)
- S51 · Ohio State News, “Ohio State athletics sets record with $336M in FY25 revenue” (2026-01)
- S52 · Sports Illustrated, “The Power 4 Conferences Reveal Revenue Figures for 2025” (2026-05-22)
- S53 · CBS Sports, “SEC generates record $1.03 billion in revenue distribution for 2024-25 fiscal year” (2026-02-05)
- S54 · CBS Sports (Shehan Jeyarajah), “College Football Playoff finalizes new TV rights contract through 2031 season” (2024-03-19)
- S55 · College Football Playoff, “CFP Management Committee Extends Current Format Through 2026-27 Season” (2026-01-23)
- S56 · Business of College Sports, “Current College Sports Television Contracts” (updated 2024-03-19)
- S57 · Sportico, “ESPN Signs $3 Billion Deal for SEC Football as CBS Era Nears End” (2020-12-10)
- S58 · Birmingham News / al.com, “How the Southeastern Conference got rich” (2008-02-24)
- S65 · KBTX, “Texas A&M athletics made $22.7 million in net revenue during fiscal year 2024” (2025-01-31)
- S71 · Sportico (Daniel Libit), “Penn State Athletics Debt Hit $535 Million Amid Stadium Rehab” (2026-02-05)
- S79 · ESPN (search-verified headline), “SEC schools to each receive record $31.2 million payout” (2015)