When this decade began and the conference realignment fever was sweeping the nation, a school raking in $20 million a year from its conference distribution was seen as riches beyond comprehension. Twenty million dollars a year, before you sell a single football ticket or take in a single donation, who can imagine it?
A decade later, we all can imagine it. In fact, the lowest of the Power 5 conference is now taking in $30 million a year and asking themselves why it isn't more.
The ACC released its most recent financial figures, giving us a full picture of the Power 5 conferences for Fiscal Year 2018. According to documents obtained by Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, here are the top-end distributions from each Power 5 league.
- Big Ten -- $54 million
- SEC -- $43.7 million
- Big 12 -- $34.7 million
- ACC/Pac-12 -- $29.5 million
Add it all up and you get this.
Compare the 2018 figures with those from just four years prior.
The Big 12's $34.7 million does not include third-tier rights such as the Longhorn Network, and the ACC is set to rise dramatically with the launch of ACC Network in August. All of this explains why the Pac-12 is looking to sell an equity stake in itself.