Report: Tax returns show SEC had revenue north of $500 million
You don't need any more proof why conferences want to have their own television networks. But we're going to provide some to you anyway.
According to tax returns acquired by USA Today, the SEC made $527.4 million in revenue from Sep. 1, 2014-Aug. 31, 2015, the first year of the SEC Network. It was also the first year of the College Football Playoff. USA Today notes the half-billion-plus is an increase of more than 60 percent than what the conference received in the last year of the BCS and the final year without the network.
Retired commissioner Mike Slive made $3.6 million. Slive left his post in July and was succeeded by Greg Sankey.
It was reported in the spring that the conference's members were getting over $30 million each in the fiscal year. The allotment per team was approximately $6 million more than the Big 12's teams were receiving from the conference. The increases in revenue were cited as a main factor in the impetus for Missouri and Texas A&M to move from the Big 12 to the SEC for the 2012-2013 season.
The SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 have their own television networks while the Big 12 does not, though Texas has the Longhorn Network. LHN and the SEC Network are both operated by ESPN. The ACC has been in talks with ESPN about forming its own network but there are no concrete launch plans.
If revenue keeps going up from television contracts – an if getting larger because of people dropping cable television packages – maybe schools can start paying their players. We can dream, can't we?
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
