Tennessee increases ticket prices by 10% to help pay athletes

[HooperScooper]

Only the tip of the iceberg how schools will start to raise money to pay athletes. Oh what have we done?!

In what is believed to be the first arrangement of its kind, Tennessee fans for all sports will be charged a 10% "talent fee" on tickets to help pay athletes as part of the new revenue-sharing plan set to begin in 2025.

"In this era of name, image and likeness (NIL), there has never been as close a connection between resources and competitive success," said White, noting that Tennessee had captured the last three SEC All-Sports trophies. "We want to be a leader in college sports. That means we want to be a leader in revenue sharing."

Vols up ticket costs by 10% to help pay athletes

Tennessee is increasing the cost of tickets for all sports by 10%, with the "talent fee" being used to help pay athletes as part of the revenue-sharing plan.

www.espn.com

 

[Kitaman]

I really don't think this whole 'paying college athletes' system was handled well.

Alabama may increase tix by 15-20% for their better/premium product.

 

[Foamdome]

Obviously people are going to hate the price increase but it's an easy way to raise NIL. On the other side when teams suck they'll sell less tickets and thus have less NIL and it could spiral.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Only the tip of the iceberg how schools will start to raise money to pay athletes. Oh what have we done?!

In what is believed to be the first arrangement of its kind, Tennessee fans for all sports will be charged a 10% "talent fee" on tickets to help pay athletes as part of the new revenue-sharing plan set to begin in 2025.

"In this era of name, image and likeness (NIL), there has never been as close a connection between resources and competitive success," said White, noting that Tennessee had captured the last three SEC All-Sports trophies. "We want to be a leader in college sports. That means we want to be a leader in revenue sharing."

Vols up ticket costs by 10% to help pay athletes

Tennessee is increasing the cost of tickets for all sports by 10%, with the "talent fee" being used to help pay athletes as part of the revenue-sharing plan.

www.espn.com

Quite obnoxious. The football powers that be are the biggest pillagers in the biz. But it's our fault. The population sends unambiguous signals that they will allow themselves to be robbed.

THIS LINE "We want to be a leader in revenue sharing". ugggh. Using "victory" language to convince your fanbase to give you even more money? I thought volunteers fought for free

 

[StllH8L8ner]

At some point it’ll come full circle and probably already has for the REALLY crooked schools…

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Tennessee brings in a little more than 3/4 of a million in attendance during a football season (110k fans, seven home games). If average ticket prices are $40 per game today, the increase (which I imagine their fans will be able to rationalize) would generate a little more than $3 million.

It would be nice if we could live in that world.

 

[borninansonia]

The entire system will crash with the first recession. Recessions are a fact of life.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Good idea.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It's a house of cards. Even for a school like Tennessee with huge football attendance and loyal fans, the cost is going to become unsustainable. Somebody convinced these players that they were worth some amount in addition to tuition, room, board and coaching, and maybe that's true. But the expectations aren't aligned with reality. The business of college football isn't big enough to pay players more than a tiny amount.

 

[awy]

it's sustainable for top programs if they manage big media contracts plus revenue development on the gate and merchandising side.

the issue is this will accelerate division between big and small athletic programs with the latter exiting the stage entirely unless they want to fund athletic deficits at the expense of other priorities.

 

[CTBballfan243]

UConn should do the same. It make perfect sense to increase ticket prices, and seat license/donation fees. What ever it takes to raise more $$$$ to pay players.

 

[Waquoit]

UConn should do the same. It make perfect sense to increase ticket prices, and seat license/donation fees. What ever it takes to raise more $$$$ to pay players.

They already have.

 

[NowInStorrs]

UConn should do the same. It make perfect sense to increase ticket prices, and seat license/donation fees. What ever it takes to raise more $$$$ to pay players.

Unfortunately it's not as effective when you're struggling to sell football tickets as is.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Unfortunately it's not as effective when you're struggling to sell football tickets as is.

Basketball tickets. That is where UConn needs to backup ticket prices

 

[huskymedic]

-> To this point, Tennessee relied heavily on four or five big donors to help fund its NIL program.

“We’ve heard from all over the country the donor fatigue associated with NIL,” White said. “We need better organization around the whole thing. This is a way for our fan base to help with a portion of it, certainly not all of it. It’s not just NIL and (revenue) share, it’s also the scholarship limits that are also being discussed as part of this settlement. If scholarship limits go away, there’s significant expense with that as well if we want to compete for national championships in every sport that we have, which we’re committed to doing at Tennessee.” <-

 

[Jaydumo20]

-> To this point, Tennessee relied heavily on four or five big donors to help fund its NIL program.

“We’ve heard from all over the country the donor fatigue associated with NIL,” White said. “We need better organization around the whole thing. This is a way for our fan base to help with a portion of it, certainly not all of it. It’s not just NIL and (revenue) share, it’s also the scholarship limits that are also being discussed as part of this settlement. If scholarship limits go away, there’s significant expense with that as well if we want to compete for national championships in every sport that we have, which we’re committed to doing at Tennessee.” <-

Ha. Donor fatigue after the first 2 years. A few of us predicted that. But THIS SOON? This will end well....

 

[Scoe]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ it's the root of all evil, the more you spend the greedier you get.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Really cannot see a scenario where this process is sustainable. In the beginning donors were the ATM. Next the fans will be paying much more to attend in person. Then once the new TV money is not enough the house of cards will crumble.

It’s not like the price players are asking to come play is going to go down. If it is like pro sports those salaries are not changing each year related to any COLA driven math. They go up 10-15% per year. So the math is easy in 5 years it going to cost a lot more to secure a commitment from a top player.

The economics of sports.

 

[awy]

an early bubble is consistent with long term growth

 

[Lambeau]

Wait 'til next year....

 

[huskymedic]

Will Ohio State follow Tennessee's lead and add player 'talent fee' to football tickets?

After Tennessee opted to charge fans a 10% 'talent fee' to increase revenues, will Ohio State follow a similar path? See what AD Ross Bjork has to say

www.dispatch.com