Big Ten announces $1.37 billion in revenue distribution to 18 member schools in fiscal year 2024-25

© Talia Sprague-Imagn Images

In the first full year of its media rights deal, the Big Ten saw record revenue distribution. The conference announced $1.37 billion distributed to its 18 member schools during fiscal year 2024-25.

That figure marks a $490 million increase from the 2023-24 fiscal year when the Big Ten distributed $883 million to its schools. The $1.37 billion in fiscal year 2024-25 comes out to roughly $76.1 million on average.

SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter

The Big Ten is the second to reach the $1 billion mark for revenue in 2024-25. Earlier this year, the SEC announced it shared $1.03 billion with its universities.

The 2024-25 fiscal year saw the Big Ten’s seven-year, $7 billion media deal take effect in full. FOX, CBS and NBC are all part of the package, though CBS was not a full partner when the agreement began. The network still had to finish its partnership with the SEC before its 3:30 p.m. ET window went exclusively to the Big Ten.

Additionally, the 2024 season marked the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff. Ohio State brought home the national title and was one of four teams to make the 12-team field along with Indiana, Penn State and Oregon.

That year, conferences received $4 million for each team that made the bracket and $4 million for each team that advanced to the quarterfinals. From there, the payout increased to $6 million for each conference’s semifinal team and $6 million more for making the national championship.

“The record disbursement reflects the first full year of the Big Ten’s current broadcast media rights agreements, as well as the conference’s success in the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff,” the Big Ten said in a press release. “It also marks the first year in which the conference was comprised of 18 world-class universities following the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington in August 2024.”

Ohio State’s national title marked the second straight for the Big Ten, following Michigan in 2023-24. The conference then got a third consecutive title this past year when Indiana completed a historic turnaround in just two years under Curt Cignetti to bring home the trophy and complete an undefeated season.