Story by
SEC financial boom brings revenue to $1.1 billion, but can it catch the Big Ten?
- Story by
- SEC financial boom brings revenue to $1.1 billion, but can it catch the Big Ten?
The Southeastern Conference reported record revenues of $1.1 billion for fiscal year 2025 with an average of $72.4 million paid out to its 14 oldest members – a huge jump from the $53.8 million paid to those schools the year before , according to documents obtained Thursday, Feb. 5 by USA TODAY Sports.
The documents also show SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey earned $4.8 million in compensation for calendar year 2024, including $4.7 million base pay − up from $4.3 million in total compensation for 2023.
Advertisement
The increases are in keeping with the money flowing into the SEC from a new $3 billion television deal with ESPN , along with postseason bowl games, the College Football Playoff and other sources.
SEC spokesman Herb Vincent confirmed the jump is "primarily due to the new ABC/ESPN Television deal" and to a much lesser extent, the expansion of the CFP to 12 teams from four in 2024.
The league provided its fiscal 2025 tax form at the request of USA TODAY Sports on Feb. 5 and also provided additional information in a news release. Its revenues jumped form $840 million in fiscal 2024.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) throws a pass against Alabama during the 2025 SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
How SEC wealth compares to Big Ten, other leagues
The SEC's revenue and distributions still aren't quite expected to match the wealth of the Big Ten Conference , whose financial records for fiscal 2025 are expected to come out later this year. One clue came from the Iowa state board of regents last year, when budget records showed that Big Ten member Iowa is expecting "athletic conference" revenue of $75.2 million for fiscal 2025 and $82.7 million for fiscal 2026.
Advertisement
READ: Student-athletes as employees? Deion Sanders' program a 'big flashing light' in debate
By comparison, the Big 12 reported distributions ranging from $38 million to $42 million for each of its oldest members in fiscal 2024 while the Atlantic Coast Conference reported per-school distributions of $43 million to $47 million in the same year . The Big 12 and ACC also are due to report their figures for fiscal 2025 later this year.
SEC benefited from new ESPN deal as new members joined
In the SEC, fiscal 2025 runs from September 2024 through August 2025, which covers the 2024 football season, when the league began a 10-year contract with ESPN worth about $300 million annually. The 2024 season also is when Oklahoma and Texas joined the league as new members . Those new schools received distributions of $2.6 million and $12.1 million, respectively, related to playoff and bowl participation, along with "designated NCAA funds," according to the SEC.
Advertisement
Oklahoma and Texas will received full shares for 2025-26 as part of their agreement to join the league. The shares will not dilute just because there are two new mouths being fed full revenue shares, said Chris Waldsmith, the SEC's associate commissioner for finance.
"There was a contract upgrade to our television when we added Oklahoma and Texas to keep our revenue moving up and relatively stable," Waldsmith told USA TODAY Sports.
The SEC still reported a budget deficit
Despite the revenue boom, the SEC reported a $14.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2025. But the league said this was due to a matter of timing and accounting on a "cash basis."
Advertisement
"During FYE 2025, the Conference distributed some bowl and SEC Network money that was received in prior years and recorded as revenue in those prior years," Vincent said. "The money was retained and paid out this year which created an expense during the year of payment."
SEC's COVID-19 loan affects distributions
The league also reported $233.3 million in liabilities from a loan it received from Truist bank to help schools deal with the financial difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. That $350 million loan helped pay each school a $23.3 million advance on future distributions. The league told USA TODAY Sports it is paying off the loan principal in three equal installments, with the first coming in fiscal year 2025. Two installments remain after previously paying more than $56 million in interest.
This affects the distributions the league pays to its members besides Texas and Oklahoma because about $7.8 million per school is being withheld from those other schools to pay back the loan. Waldsmith said the league's reported distributions are gross amounts that would be $7.8 million less if netted for the loan payback.
Advertisement
"We didn't show it as $23 million (in distribution) back in the day," he said. "Now it's getting recorded as distribution."
This will continue in fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
"The SEC's annual revenue sharing allows member universities to support elite athletics programs, including sustained and meaningful investment in women's and Olympic sports that enhances opportunities and strengthens resources, while advancing the academic and athletic aspirations of thousands of student-athletes," Sankey said in a statement.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer . Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
(This story has been updated to add new information).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC reports $1.1 billion in revenue, Big Ten keeps financial race lead
