Big Ten Led All Conferences With $928M Revenue in 2024, $1.2B+ Expected in 2025

The Big Ten reported "just over $928 million in total revenue" on its federal tax records for 2024, per Steve Berkowitz of USA Today. That mark is $88 million ahead of the SEC, which reported $840 million in total revenue for 2024 in February.

The Big Ten expanded to 18 teams in 2024 after adding four former Pac-12 schools in UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon. Revenue in the 2025 fiscal year is expected to rise to at least $1.2 billion, per Berkowitz, who provided more information.

"However, the new records, along with documents and data released by three Big Ten member schools in recent years strongly indicate that the conference’s revenue for its ongoing 2025 fiscal year will increase to somewhere between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion, with the new TV deals taking full effect and the additions of UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington increasing its membership to 18 schools. The Big Ten’s document was provided by the conference on May 6 in response to a request from USA TODAY Sports."

Per USA Today, the Big Ten also distributed $63.2 million to its 12 "longest-standing schools" during the 2024 fiscal year. That notably excluded the four aforementioned Pac-12 schools plus Rutgers and Maryland, which joined the Big Ten in 2014.

Per Berkowitz, it appears that the Big Ten will pay 16 of 18 member schools around $75 million for the 2025 fiscal year. The two exceptions will be Oregon and Washington, as their share will be "phased in over seven years."

Needless to say, the money is rolling in for the conference, which is in the early stages of a seven-year, $7 billion television rights deal with Fox, CBS and NBC. It began on July 1, 2023, and is scheduled to go through the end of the 2029-30 athletic campaign.

At the time of the announcement (Aug. 18, 2022), ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported that "a financial windfall won't come immediately." That was because CBS's payout was set to be lower in 2023, with the network still showing SEC games that year. Only seven Big Ten games aired on CBS that season.

Things changed in 2024 with the Big Ten being the featured conference on the network and UCLA and USC joining the mix. At the time of the article, the expectation was for the Big Ten to "eventually distribute $80 million to $100 million per year to each of its 16 members."

Since the deal was announced, Oregon and Washington officially were added to the conference, but regardless, it's clear the Big Ten is rolling in money, as are its members. That's not going to change any time soon, especially with the TV deal.