By Will Baxley on SwimSwam
The University of Tennessee added a 10% “talent fee” to next season’s football tickets in preparation for the athlete revenue-sharing model that could come from House v NCAA.
Separate from an additional 4.5% year-to-year average ticket price hike, the talent fee will go directly to student-athletes as part of the House case’s athlete revenue sharing model.
If House is settled with no further adjustments, colleges would be allowed to share up to $22 million in revenue with student-athletes. For the Tennessee athletic department, which earned over $200 million in revenue in 2023, this would be over 10% of their revenue. Considering Tennessee ranked 8th nationwide for athletic department revenue last year, this percentage would be much higher for most schools.
While the $22 million figure would not be a requirement, top schools may feel pressure to reach this number to recruit top talent.
“In this era of name, image and likeness, there has never been as close a connection between resources and competitive success,” said Tennessee’s athletic director Danny White.
Tennessee’s decision to explicitly tie ticket pricing to athlete payments came in part to mitigate backlash. The department thought fans would be more sympathetic to price hikes if they knew that most of it was going straight to the athletes. Despite this thought process, many social media posts complaining about the price hike still gained traction.
“And it begins…. The athletic department passing the cost on to the loyal fans,” reads one comment with thousands of likes.
Though Tennessee is the first school to directly tie ticket pricing to athlete payments, they are not necessarily the first school to raise revenue in preparation for athlete sharing. In fact, the University of Louisville’s Athletic Director Josh Heird told the Associated Press that he imagines other schools will follow suit with ticket price increases.
In a USA Today Article, Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork called Tennessee’s move “creative and timely” while saying his own university’s plan to increase revenue is still on the table.
Claudia Wilken, the judge presiding over House v. NCAA, is still reviewing details of the revenue sharing model. Tennessee prides itself in being ahead of the curve.
“We want to be a leader in college sports. That means we want to be a leader in revenue sharing.” White said.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Tennessee Adds “Talent Fee” On Football Tickets for Athlete Pay