SEC Announces Revenue of $41 Million, Big 12 Still Within Striking Distance

It was announced on Thursday that the SEC once again topped $40 million per team in revenue for the most recent fiscal year. The official number is $40.9 million, which is slightly higher than the $40.4 million each team made last fiscal year. It’s also $6 million ahead of each Big 12 team.

To my knowledge, those are the only two conferences that have reported FY 2017 numbers to this date.

SB Nation makes a great point about all of these numbers, which are very wonky and contain innumerable moving parts.

Those are all rough figures, because the conferences have a bunch of little stipulations about how they distribute their money. Newer members sometimes don’t get the same shares older members get. Sometimes they get more, like in the case of Maryland, which once was fronted extra money from the Big Ten to cover an exit fee it had to pay when it departed the ACC. It’s all bureaucratic and complicated. [SB Nation]

It’s also worth noting that the SEC money includes third-tier rights.

For Oklahoma State (and every other Big 12 school), these rights are packaged and distributed on an individual school basis through Fox Sports and/or other entities. While Texas gets $15 million a year, OSU is likely more in the $2-5M per year range.

However you look at it, OSU is pulling somewhere around $40 million a year for the digital distribution of its athletic programs as well as other things like bowl money and NCAA Tournament money. This is preposterous, and maybe it shines a brighter light on the future than we once thought.

I wrote those last two paragraphs a few months ago, and they remain true even with the SEC’s announcement on Thursday.

Including 3rd tier rights, top Big 12 schools in media rights revenue past year: Texas $49.8 million, OU $40.8M, KU $39.8M, WVU $37.8M

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) June 2, 2017

I think the Big 12 has a real chance to compete with the Pac-12 and ACC into the future (and maybe even the SEC if its growth stalls?). The Big Ten, however, well the Big Ten is about to run away and hide.

That new Big Ten TV deal is working out. U-M projects a $51.1 million distribution for FY 2018 pic.twitter.com/zNYV0DL63W

— Mark Snyder (@Mark__Snyder) June 15, 2017

The ACC and Pac-12 both have massive distribution issues as it relates to their conference networks and third tier rights, and the Big 12 keeps posting big numbers in revenue. There is speculation that the distribution number for the Big 12 could get to above $40 million by the end of the current TV deal in 2025.

That’s no small thing and could provide stability to a conference that might be lacking it in perception only.