Every penny counts, and the NCAA made a lot of them in 2014. In financial numbers released Wednesday, the NCAA showed a revenue of $989 million in 2014. With $908 million in expenses, the NCAA netted a surplus of about $80.5 million.
Compared to the previous fiscal year for the NCAA, the net surplus is about $20 million higher in 2014. As you might suspect, the 2014 surplus is the largest in NCAA history. So where did all of that money come from?
Approximately $753.5 million in revenue came through various television and marketing rights fees. An additional $114.8 millions came from championships and NIT tournaments. It should be noted the College Football Playoff and bowl games are not included under NCAA revenues as the NCAA is not associated with the bowl system or the College Football Playoff beyond sanctioning them as official postseason games and record keeping.
Of the $908.5 million in expenses, $547 million was distributed to Division 1 schools. A total of $34.7 million went to Division 2 distributions, championship expenses and other programs. Division 3 championship expenses and distributions amounted to $28.7 million. The NCAA also set aside $158 million for legal expenses, an astronomical number.
The details regarding large payouts to be made from losing legal battles is also outlined. A $70 million payout from a concussion lawsuit is undergoing negotiations with insurance providers. The settlement amount has not been 100 percent finalized, so there is still time before the NCAA has to commit to the funding for the concussion lawsuit. The NCAA says a “combination of insurance proceeds and settlements with third parties” to settle the $20 million owed as a result of the Sam Keller video game likeness lawsuit.
One notable lawsuit the NCAA has not yet put into a calculator is the impending amount due from the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit. The NCAA is appealing a previous verdict so there is more to the fight before having to worry about the expected loss that could be rather significant.
These numbers come out as the NCAA is about to hold its biggest annual moneymaker, the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Last year’s Final Four was held in Arlington, Texas in AT&T Stadium. This year’s game will be played in Indianapolis, with a smaller venue and fewer seats to fill, and tickets to be sold.
“Great big venue and lots of people attending,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said, per USA Today. “It will be hard to achieve that same result in a somewhat smaller venue this year.”
Just imagine if the NCAA had taken control of the college football postseason years or decades ago. They would be seeing some monster profits from that as well.