All things FSU: Updated ACC figures (update)

Projected Revenue by Conference, 2022-29

Great project info from ACC Football RX

Here's the data table, sorted by conference payout, highest to lowest:

Reworked Navigate Research Projected Payout Per Team: P5
Year	SEC	B1G	ACC	Big12	PAC12
2022	$54.30	$57.20	$30.90	$40.60	$34.40
2023	$56.00	$58.90	$36.30	$41.80	$35.50
2024	$57.60	$76.20	$37.90	$43.10	$24.20
2025	$74.90	$80.20	$39.60	$44.30	$28.10
2026	$107.80	$100.30	$54.30	$52.60	$38.00
2027	$111.00	$103.40	$56.60	$54.20	$39.10
2028	$114.40	$106.50	$59.00	$55.80	$40.30
2029	$117.80	$109.70	$61.50	$57.50	$41.40

ACC saw revenue growth in 2020-21 fiscal year

After the meetings concluded on May 12, the ACC announced Friday that it generated a record $578 million for the 2020-21 fiscal year. That was an increase of more than $80 million from the previous year's revenue total of $497 million.

This increase, while encouraging, is not a permanent indicator of a significant revenue growth. It can be attributed to the fact that Notre Dame agreed to join the ACC as a full-time member for the 2020 football season, sharing its NBC revenue with the rest of the conference.

This led to each school in the conference getting an allotment of $36.1 million from the ACC.

The overall revenue number is expected to somewhat fall back for the 2021-22 report without Notre Dame's full membership. However, a 20% growth in television revenue up to $397.4 million from the ACC Network's expansion in 2020-21 should grow once more on next year's report and make up some of the gap.

With Notre Dame as full member in 2020-21, ACC revenue increased

Pandemic fallout battered college athletics financially in 2020-21, but courtesy of Notre Dame’s one season as an ACC football member, league revenue increased by 16.4%, the largest growth in four years.

Filed to the Internal Revenue Service last week and provided to The Times-Dispatch on Friday, the ACC’s 2020-21 tax return reported $578.3 million in revenue, a record for the conference and more than $80 million north of the previous fiscal year’s $496.7 million.

Reflecting the times, the ACC spent $2.5 million on medical testing for member schools and reported $2.3 million in legal expenses, the latter more than double the $1.1 million of 2019-20. In his final year as commissioner, John Swofford collected $3.6 million in salary and other income, a 10% cut from 2019-20.

ACC revenue has more than tripled since 2011, and this latest bump is the league’s biggest since a 23.9% increase in 2016-17. The average distribution to the conference’s 15 schools, $36.1 million, is also a record, with Virginia and Virginia Tech receiving $35.9 million and $35.8 million, respectively.

But as usual with ACC financials, the larger picture is complex and less encouraging.

The complexities are rooted largely to Notre Dame, which joined the ACC as a partial member in 2013-14 while retaining its football independence. Both parties have benefited financially and competitively, and in 2020-21 their unusual, and occasionally uneasy, alliance veered unexpectedly.

Notre Dame’s NBC money helped the ACC’s television revenue increase 19.4%, to $397.4 million, and for the first, and perhaps only time, the Irish received a full share of conference revenue. Their $34.9 million more than tripled their partial share of $10.8 million the previous year.

Despite Notre Dame’s return to football independence, the ACC’s media rights figure to grow again in 2021-22. ESPN last November contracted with the nation’s largest television provider, Xfinity/Comcast, to carry the ACC Network, and the subsequent windfall likely will offset the loss of the Irish’s NBC package.

The ACC has long aspired to add Notre Dame football, and the program’s heritage and television appeal would help the conference close a widening revenue gap with the SEC and Big Ten. But university officials steadfastly resist, and with the SEC and Big Ten poised to sign new television deals, the ACC will fall further behind.

As USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz reported, the SEC’s 2020-21 revenue was $833 million, with an average per-school distribution of $54.6 million. Big Ten shares ranged from $43.1 million to $49.1 million, Big 12 $34.7 million to $36.5 million.

Most cautious among the Power Five conferences during the pandemic, the Pacific 12 distributed an average of $19.8 million to its schools.

SEC: 54.6 million per school average

B1G: 45.3 million per school average

ACC: 36.2 million per school average

B12: 32-35 million (post season money the variable) per school range

PAC: 19.8 million per school average

In contrast, the PAC generated only $344m in 2020-2021, a decline of over $150m compared to the previous year. The PAC was hammered due to canceled football games which reduced media payouts.

That worked out to a paltry $20m a school.

The B1G also took a hit. Its truncated football season cost it money, knocking payouts down to about $44m from $54m the year before.

The SEC and ACC were wise to play full football schedules in 2020.

Power 5 conference revenues varied greatly for 2020-21

The ACC and Pac-12 released their financial data for the 2020-21 season on Friday, and most notably, the conferences saw their revenues impacted in a different way during the coronavirus pandemic.

While the ACC 990 form shows total revenue was more than $578.3 million, the highest gross revenue in league history, the Pac-12 reported total revenues of $344 million -- down 36% over the previous year.

The ACC saw a 16.4% increase in revenues compared to 2019-20, the largest growth with the current membership, and distributed an average of $36.1 million per school. The Pac-12 reported an average distribution of $19.8 million per school, a decrease of 41% over the previous year. In a statement, the Pac-12 attributed those numbers primarily to decreased media rights and postseason bowl revenues, game cancellations, lower event revenue due to no fans, and higher costs associated with COVID-19 health and safety protocols and testing.

Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 revenue fell in fiscal year of pandemic, while ACC, SEC saw increases

The conferences other than the SEC provided their new returns this week in response to requests from USA TODAY Sports, which also obtained additional comments from those four conferences. The SEC made its return public in February, and it showed total revenue of just over $833 million – a $105 million increase over what it reported for fiscal 2020. Its member schools received an average of $54.6 million in fiscal 2021, plus a $23.3 million advance on future conference distributions.

ACC

Payouts to schools: Ranged from $35 million to $38.1 million. (In 2020, they ranged $30.9 million to $37 million, except for Notre Dame, which got $10.8 million.) The conference declined to comment on whether Notre Dame’s full participation in the 2020 football season resulted in an increase in TV rights fees. It said that the ACC Network was about 80% of full distribution in fiscal 2020, and reached full distribution in December 2021; this should result in increased revenue for fiscal 2022.

Commissioner’s pay: Swofford credited with more than $3.6 million in total compensation for 2020 calendar year, down from just over $4 million in 2019.

Total revenue by conference for FY21, when ACC and SEC played the most football games and Pac-12 the least:
SEC: $833 M (+$105M vs. FY20)
B1G: $679.8 M (-$89M)
ACC: $578.3M (+82M)
Big 12: $356M (-$53M)
Pac-12: $343.5M (-$190M) https://t.co/h9ioUhg6P1
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) May 20, 2022

Per-school payouts for FY21, when ACC SEC played the most football games and Pac-12 the least, per new federal tax docs:
SEC: $54.6M + $23.M advance on future payouts
B1G: Range from $43.1M - $49.1M
ACC: Range from $35M - $38.1M
Big 12: Range from $34.7M - $36.5M
Pac-12: $19.8M https://t.co/h9ioUhg6P1
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) May 20, 2022

Power 5 commish pay for 2020 calendar year, per new federal tax docs:
B1G: Jim Delany (retired June 2020), Net total of $4.7M
Pac-12: Larry Scott, $3.7M
ACC: John Swofford, $3.6M
B1G: Kevin Warren, $3.5M
Big 12: Bob Bowlsby, $3.1M
SEC: Greg Sankey, $3Mhttps://t.co/5hEzHgg5XK
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) May 20, 2022

ACC REVENUE 2018-21

Best ACC breakdown you will read anywhere thanks to ACC Football RX

NCAA/CONFERENCE DISTRIBUTIONS, MEDIA RIGHTS, AND POST-SEASON FOOTBALL

Revenue received from the NCAA (including championships) and athletics conferences, media rights, and post-season football bowl games.

YEAR	2018	2019	2020	2021
ACC MEDIAN	$31,127,041	$33,342,791	$32,470,541	$37,265,972
CLEMSON	$29,857,274	$34,156,191	$36,045,855	$37,442,984
FLORIDA STATE	$36,403,663	$40,932,237	$32,414,576	$37,896,134
GEORGIA TECH	$29,808,184	$28,977,793	$31,849,447	$37,088,960
NC STATE	$36,771,171	$38,897,479	$30,314,651	$36,227,784
LOUISVILLE	$29,912,865	$29,491,643	$32,526,505	$35,235,096
NORTH CAROLINA	$29,952,739	$29,638,648	$33,902,645	$39,371,619
VIRGINIA	$32,301,342	$32,529,391	$30,835,905	$34,002,020
VIRGINIA TECH	$36,279,292	$36,095,803	$37,758,848	$38,006,000

By the way, here's how that compared to the other P5 conferences:

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEDIAN*	$80,516,722
BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEDIAN	$46,610,487
BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIAN	$39,052,528
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIAN	$37,265,972
PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEDIAN	$21,613,484

This makes it look less like a P2+3 and more like a P1+4; I'll try to dig a little deeper to find out how the SEC paid out so much in 2021, so look for that post soon.

* ADDENDUM: I'm reminded that the SEC took a $322M loan from future TV contract monies due to pandemic losses. I'm also told the true actual media revenue for the SEC in 2021 was ~ $54.3 million.

DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Funds contributed from individuals, corporations, associations, foundations, clubs or other organizations external to the athletics program above the face value for tickets.

YEAR	2018	2019	2020	2021
ACC MEDIAN	$24,954,256	$25,069,746	$25,281,911	$24,820,877
CLEMSON	$40,512,301	$44,219,996	$43,496,371	$61,975,876
FLORIDA STATE	$55,886,370	$40,308,148	$37,215,952	$43,791,006
GEORGIA TECH	$11,576,700	$12,817,122	$10,984,784	$7,743,371
NC STATE	$15,005,244	$15,363,138	$15,231,888	$25,047,366
LOUISVILLE	$35,612,331	$38,194,281	$36,361,594	$11,641,455
NORTH CAROLINA	$20,752,770	$23,076,537	$22,311,409	$38,637,341
VIRGINIA	$27,594,417	$27,062,954	$28,252,413	$24,594,388
VIRGINIA TECH	$22,314,095	$18,897,304	$21,956,292	$16,329,303