If you want to know how good things are in the Big Ten, take a look at the reported revenue share that was made payable to Purdue, then compare that with payouts from other power conference programs. Purdue reportedly received a payout from the Big Ten in the amount of $32 million. Not bad a for a college football team that won three games last year, and just four games over the past two years. It is also about $12 million more than Florida State received from the ACC for the past year.
The Big Ten revenue share to Purdue was reported by Lafayette Journal & Courier, and once again demonstrates the expected revenue stream Big Ten programs are currently working with. As with all of the conferences, revenue streams saw an increase across the board thanks in part to the addition of the College Football Playoff. Last month Michigan even adjusted their expected operating budget to reflect a projected increase in revenue share money from $32 million budgeted to $34.7 million. Purdue’s reported share is up $5 million from a year ago.Hey those big-ass drum sticks aren’t cheap. https://t.co/lfWNaa6Fio
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) July 18, 2015
An estimated $1 million of the revenue shares comes from profits made through the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Network has been generating a profit for a few years now, but some of that money was being used to help Maryland and Rutgers make the transition into the Big Ten. Maryland and Rutgers (and Nebraska) are not eligible for full shares of the Big Ten revenue pie.
Nebraska is scheduled to receive its first full revenue share in 2018. Maryland and Rutgers will be eligible for a full share in 2021.