SEC divides revenue to member programs and it's a lot of money each team is receiving
Georgia is set to receive a check with at least eight digits on it.
The SEC league office announced that it is distributing approximately $565.9 million to each of its 14 member institutions, which will be a payout of roughly $40.4 million per school. That means Georgia is receiving quite the paycheck from the SEC, in addition to the money it received from appearing in the Liberty Bowl.
Including the money collected for travel reimbursements during bowl season, the SEC is claiming a total payout of $584.2 million, with the bowls contributing $18.3 million. This total was collected over the 2015-16 sports year.
“Each of our institutions sponsor from 16 to 22 intercollegiate athletics teams and offer their student-athletes in those sports the highest level of commitment to their athletics and academic experience,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “This distribution from the SEC helps our universities’ athletics programs continue to fully support broad-based opportunities for thousands of female and male student-athletes in all sports.”
The money the SEC divides up to its schools comes from television agreements, bowl games, the College Football Playoff, the SEC Football Championship, the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, NCAA Championships and a supplemental surplus distribution.
In addition to the SEC's payout, each team receives an estimated $1 million for "academic enhancement payments."
The advent of the SEC Network, owned by ESPN, has seen the revenue distribution rise quite a bit since its inception in 2014. The average $40.4 million payout to each school is an increase from the $32.7 million it distributed from the 2014-15 year.
“This revenue distribution provides SEC institutions the flexibility to invest in unique and significant ways that provide positive outcomes across their respective campuses,” Sankey said. “Besides providing superior support in coaching, equipment, training, academic counseling, medical care and life-skills development for student-athletes, athletics programs in the SEC have been known to provide significant financial support to the academic side of their institutions, whether in the direct transfer of funds, in assistance with the construction and renovation of academic facilities or in support of academic scholarship opportunities or academic programs.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 3:25 PM with the headline "SEC divides revenue to member programs and it's a lot of money each team is receiving."