NCAA Revenue Sharing & NIL – Big Ten Schools – NCAA Revenue Sharing & NIL Estimates 2025

Conference Members	2026-27	2025-26
Illinois	Big Ten	Big Ten
Indiana	Big Ten	Big Ten
Iowa	Big Ten	Big Ten
Maryland	Big Ten	Big Ten
Michigan	Big Ten	Big Ten
Michigan State	Big Ten	Big Ten
Minnesota	Big Ten	Big Ten
Nebraska	Big Ten	Big Ten
Northwestern	Big Ten	Big Ten
Ohio State	Big Ten	Big Ten
Oregon	Big Ten	Big Ten
Penn State	Big Ten	Big Ten
Purdue	Big Ten	Big Ten
Rutgers	Big Ten	Big Ten
Southern Cal	Big Ten	Big Ten
UCLA	Big Ten	Big Ten
Washington	Big Ten	Big Ten
Wisconsin	Big Ten	Big Ten

Total Members	18	18

2025 Net Operating Losses: Big Ten Schools

2025 Operating Losses ($) Big Ten Public Schools *	Operating Revenue	Operating Expenses	Operating Loss 2025	Contributions	Student Fees & School Support	Endowment & Investment	Surplus (Deficit)

Illinois	129,511,596	189,859,538	-60,347,942	50,720,205	11,490,052	3,039,325	4,901,640
Indiana	129,055,001	173,020,646	-43,965,645	26,431,033	27,946,488	-	10,411,876
Iowa	137,331,725	173,379,699	-36,047,974	35,071,275	2,848,923	4,726,168	6,598,392
Maryland	92,608,681	128,662,116	-36,053,435	11,311,080	18,659,414	1,418,743	-4,664,198
Michigan	214,138,899	261,556,268	-47,417,369	50,362,101	196,545	11,146,570	14,287,847
Michigan State	131,075,123	178,288,091	-47,212,968	36,980,159	7,693,718	4,142,651	1,603,560
Minnesota	127,741,577	161,202,217	-33,460,640	22,376,553	11,657,831	1,829,185	2,402,929
Nebraska	165,504,684	207,743,888	-42,239,204	48,407,981	-	1,176,342	7,345,119
Ohio State	259,634,646	320,394,965	-60,760,319	68,955,032	-	7,488,209	15,682,922
Oregon	151,180,370	182,702,378	-31,522,008	33,164,614	589,167	486,753	2,718,526
Penn State **	186,599,369	236,275,528	-49,676,159	64,557,754	-	3,710,475	18,592,070
Purdue	119,659,133	149,650,825	-29,991,692	27,693,151	-	3,184,036	885,495
Rutgers	105,321,274	193,831,838	-88,510,564	8,122,577	30,870,544	2,323,671	-47,193,772
UCLA	114,487,557	173,429,394	-58,941,837	13,478,195	21,060,000	2,771,489	-21,632,153
Washington	110,425,099	184,354,672	-73,929,573	52,876,796	10,781,975	4,389,247	-5,881,555
Wisconsin	162,395,226	193,630,009	-31,234,783	26,219,033	3,176,379	6,136,608	4,297,237

Average per School ($)	146,041,873	194,248,880	-48,207,007	36,045,471	9,185,690	3,623,092	647,246

Big Ten schools averaged $ 48 million in net operating losses in 2025 … and this is before Revenue Sharing adds another $ 25 million or more in additional costs this year. Consequently, schools such as Rutgers and Washington (which receives only a half-share of the current media contract) could be looking at net operating losses of around $ 100 million this year. Other schools in the Big Ten are not far behind.

The bottom line is a school has to come up with money from somewhere to pay for all this red ink. Historically, deficits have been funded by a combination of athletic department contributions, student fees and direct school support. However, these traditional sources of support are unlikely to keep pace with skyrocketing athletics operating costs. Despite the hard sell by many athletic departments, there are indications that booster fatigue is increasing. And it’s not a good look for schools to ratchet up student fees paid by middle-income families in order to pay teen-age football and basketball players millions of dollars. This is the reason why many schools and conferences are looking at alternate sources of funding, including private equity arrangements and a so-caller super league. It’s why the current NIL era is most likely not sustainable in its present structure.

* Data available for Big Ten public schools only, results for Northwestern & Southern California are not included.
** Operating expenses for Penn State do not include revenue sharing payments reported on 2025 NCAA filing.

2025 Operating Revenues: Big Ten Schools

Operating Revenues ($) Big Ten Schools 2025 *	Total Revenue	Ticket Sales	Media Rights	Post Season Distributions	NCAA Payments	Bowl Game Revenues	Licenses & Sponsorships	Game Day & Concessions	Game Guarantees	Other Revenue

Illinois	129,511,596	29,973,328	66,801,333	12,756,572	3,585,360	588,415	8,725,169	3,141,447	421,944	3,518,028
Indiana	129,055,001	29,573,521	62,890,811	10,666,688	4,068,864	3,000,000	11,283,870	5,093,288	98,000	2,379,959
Iowa	137,331,725	33,104,198	64,500,009	10,665,018	4,179,459	1,765,759	13,142,787	4,476,365	862,963	4,635,167
Maryland **	92,608,681	12,806,716	48,326,058	10,665,018	3,917,822	-	7,906,346	1,968,554	-	7,018,167
Michigan	214,138,899	75,862,287	62,790,811	10,665,018	5,047,954	2,118,900	35,556,501	10,663,667	572,005	10,861,756
Michigan State	131,075,123	30,640,116	63,000,009	10,665,018	4,668,907	-	14,240,446	2,127,756	1,178,377	4,554,494
Minnesota	127,741,577	19,598,839	63,000,043	11,588,717	3,880,887	2,091,030	13,006,804	6,892,048	109,000	7,574,209
Nebraska	165,504,684	40,677,611	75,871,641	10,665,018	4,327,693	2,486,548	17,941,341	9,598,199	43,828	3,892,805
Ohio State	259,634,646	81,650,892	64,917,009	10,665,018	4,804,969	17,452,406	42,770,263	12,385,572	556,466	24,432,051
Oregon **	151,180,370	34,920,016	49,117,548	12,704,289	3,468,669	3,920,830	26,607,027	12,868,680	516,000	7,057,311
Penn State	186,599,369	50,362,976	64,500,009	14,818,587	4,915,069	5,349,583	25,114,673	10,221,823	-	11,316,649
Purdue	119,659,133	23,576,258	62,890,811	10,665,018	4,160,077	-	9,176,973	4,624,125	200,000	4,365,871
Rutgers	105,321,274	15,846,777	61,258,372	10,665,018	4,060,773	2,483,080	2,679,994	3,256,182	226,845	4,844,233
UCLA	114,487,557	18,313,824	61,258,372	10,665,018	5,339,900	-	10,589,277	1,305,901	1,688,568	5,326,697
Washington **	110,425,099	31,138,233	30,000,000	12,254,289	3,663,271	1,944,090	21,732,337	3,977,750	1,874,713	3,840,416
Wisconsin	162,395,226	38,384,715	62,890,811	10,665,018	4,365,118	-	24,757,630	7,359,777	205,000	13,767,157

Average per School ($)	146,041,873	35,401,894	60,250,853	11,339,958	4,278,425	2,700,040	17,826,965	6,247,571	534,607	7,461,561

* Data available for Big Ten public schools only, results for Northwestern & Southern California are not included.
** Maryland, Oregon & Washington do not currently receive a full share of the Big Ten Media Contract

2025 Operating Expenses: Big Ten Schools

Operating Expenses ($) Big Ten Schools 2025 *	Total Expenses	Coaching Salaries	Admin Salaries	Athletic Scholarships	Game Guarantees	Severance Payments	Recruiting	Team Travel	Uniforms & Equipment	Game Day Expenses	Marketing & Fundraising	Athletic facility debt service, rents & leases	Athletic facility operating costs	Athlete Medical	Athlete Meals	Post-season Expenses	Alston & other Educ benefits	Overhead & Administration	Other Oper Expenses

Illinois	189,859,538	35,517,131	31,963,461	13,337,620	2,767,250	546,909	3,563,849	8,863,220	2,585,157	4,488,756	21,888,016	17,770,740	7,954,285	2,258,590	4,459,569	5,809,330	2,567,061	15,533,515	7,985,079
Indiana	173,020,646	35,989,378	21,574,653	18,375,869	4,504,134	8,520,811	2,598,898	11,760,441	5,420,808	9,336,603	1,403,112	12,352,199	4,824,632	766,083	3,675,564	3,832,648	1,725,191	21,698,371	4,661,251
Iowa	173,379,699	36,967,412	25,842,710	14,867,866	3,207,449	492,563	2,304,738	10,067,427	3,535,892	6,594,812	5,316,435	22,499,593	7,838,209	2,266,973	5,193,750	5,124,731	2,815,335	7,375,820	11,067,984
Maryland	128,662,116	30,951,059	26,422,341	19,021,511	1,834,013	661,024	2,722,746	10,372,043	4,728,958	5,124,679	1,295,094	183,522	5,965,803	2,508,220	3,885,597	1,787,271	1,787,332	3,405,423	6,005,480
Michigan	261,556,268	39,552,637	47,636,208	31,832,324	5,343,227	586,081	6,105,020	13,741,922	6,384,157	7,279,518	1,015,661	17,467,360	35,326,446	1,968,898	7,115,908	6,667,176	3,871,169	11,872,403	17,790,153
Michigan State	178,288,091	36,683,526	31,338,032	19,670,805	3,434,938	1,421,891	2,908,033	11,971,848	5,563,045	8,050,068	3,303,471	16,356,742	3,330,459	1,914,304	3,983,538	2,622,237	2,574,235	12,562,445	10,598,474
Minnesota	161,202,217	33,705,036	28,250,650	16,825,663	3,255,046	911,372	3,287,687	8,597,875	3,486,264	5,742,602	3,476,207	7,939,461	12,234,371	2,018,036	4,519,917	3,854,104	2,196,250	15,194,107	5,707,569
Nebraska	207,743,888	34,960,374	35,930,464	12,695,377	3,602,682	2,952,083	3,172,140	11,526,960	6,803,461	7,032,550	2,402,307	1,339,752	9,912,834	1,284,496	11,649,457	6,254,828	3,136,510	40,238,244	12,849,369
Ohio State	320,394,965	54,207,127	51,849,996	24,930,964	4,615,680	11,732	4,110,006	14,565,602	5,945,294	10,883,177	28,369,123	29,710,677	14,176,024	4,438,795	6,807,488	21,126,426	5,066,460	26,210,919	13,369,475
Oregon	182,702,378	41,714,009	31,649,728	16,332,827	2,905,313	53,333	3,482,608	10,908,552	4,458,353	7,030,018	1,063,989	18,303,978	6,335,766	2,611,921	3,280,256	7,815,165	2,848,473	14,097,979	7,810,110
Penn State **	236,275,528	43,458,097	41,149,516	24,365,001	3,950,500	1,746,632	4,565,666	10,135,193	961,004	16,387,967	1,408,929	24,204,901	9,641,756	2,572,690	2,472,665	16,762,478	4,911,440	6,727,527	20,853,566
Purdue	149,650,825	27,522,548	27,196,199	12,926,780	1,818,855	2,253,799	2,924,097	8,085,561	4,368,713	5,141,692	3,067,002	14,510,428	10,470,731	2,120,600	5,197,575	1,514,146	2,089,410	3,680,000	14,762,689
Rutgers	193,831,838	47,079,309	31,427,918	23,150,831	2,070,019	110,566	3,544,574	13,482,718	5,025,227	8,649,579	1,637,460	14,440,012	-	2,500,888	8,420,349	5,785,943	2,721,088	18,662,013	5,123,344
UCLA	173,429,394	32,584,545	31,815,001	18,912,401	2,238,000	4,281,307	3,500,797	14,519,436	4,894,771	15,630,785	1,337,553	438,512	9,248,503	2,311,707	8,531,843	3,335,663	1,870,425	3,296,809	14,681,336
Washington	184,354,672	35,493,321	35,053,163	19,113,740	3,386,000	-	3,516,170	13,123,915	10,322,331	10,878,505	2,037,998	9,922,009	10,522,914	1,883,600	9,389,075	3,531,841	1,982,663	4,127,393	10,070,034
Wisconsin	193,630,009	33,193,725	43,094,721	19,449,379	3,474,439	1,590,446	2,366,445	11,209,939	3,627,287	2,444,572	4,560,774	10,470,659	2,435,897	3,878,669	5,927,900	2,752,064	8,229,418	26,588,253	8,335,422

Average per School ($)	194,248,880	37,473,702	33,887,173	19,113,060	3,275,472	1,633,784	3,417,092	11,433,291	4,881,920	8,168,493	5,223,946	13,619,409	9,388,664	2,331,529	5,906,903	6,161,003	3,149,529	14,454,451	10,729,458

Estimated NCAA Revenue Sharing 2025-26: Big Ten Schools

Football and Men’s basketball account for close to 90% of team specific revenues at most Power Conference schools, and athletes in these two sports will be the major beneficiaries of revenue sharing:

Estimated Revenue Sharing Big Ten Schools 2025-26	Revenue Share %	Team / Sport Allocation ($)	Eligible Athletes	Average per Athlete ($)

Football	75.1%	15,399,304	105	146,660
Men's Basketball	15.0%	3,062,084	15	204,139
All Other Sports	9.9%	2,038,612	563	3,621

Big Ten Averages	100.0%	$ 20,500,000	683	$ 30,015

These are averages per athlete, a few players per team will receive substantially higher than the average, while many will get much less. For athletes who see little if any playing time, their revenue share will also likely be minimal. Estimates are based on team specific revenues as reported to the NCAA.

Annual Operating Expenses – Big Ten schools 2022-24:

Per 2024 EADA reporting, average annual athletic department operating costs were $ 171 million for Big Ten schools, a 27% increase in expenses over a 2-year span:

Athletic Department Annual Expenses *	FY 2024 ($)	FY 2023 ($)	FY 2022 ($)	2-year % Increase

Ohio State	262,172,467	234,409,941	209,874,565	25%
Southern California	242,378,198	212,013,703	187,650,353	29%
Michigan	220,814,081	202,501,688	176,070,866	25%
Penn State	199,046,216	191,411,846	174,110,034	14%
Washington	187,686,516	140,259,588	136,494,743	38%
Nebraska	175,438,100	160,904,566	124,061,227	41%
Wisconsin	172,873,023	173,758,101	132,104,285	31%
UCLA	170,897,220	141,964,728	131,106,913	30%
Indiana	164,249,955	126,886,128	113,738,066	44%
Michigan State	164,109,191	149,254,610	128,196,083	28%
Rutgers	155,852,426	130,221,793	130,891,215	19%
Iowa	150,493,777	140,482,011	126,680,448	19%
Illinois	149,390,875	134,767,269	113,652,548	31%
Oregon	148,961,287	128,532,281	121,162,341	23%
Minnesota	138,599,675	128,573,351	113,686,733	22%
Maryland	132,764,504	121,160,348	114,385,462	16%
Northwestern	124,080,838	117,587,514	105,383,998	18%
Purdue	116,766,603	105,239,251	89,722,572	30%

Average per School	170,920,831	152,218,262	134,942,914	27%

* Expenses per Equity in Athletics Act (EADA) annual reporting. These results are comparable to NCAA membership reporting with one primary exception – EADA reporting does not include payments made for athletic facilities debt service and leases. Consequently, due to the inclusion of these payments, average annual expenses for Big Ten schools per NCAA reporting was $ 187 million in 2024 or about $ 16 million higher per school (see tables below). See our methodology page for more detail and disclosures.

Listing of Big Ten NIL Collectives by School:

School	Collective(s)

Illinois	ICON Collective
Indiana	Hoosiers Connect	Hoosiers For Good	Hoosier Hysterics
Iowa	Swarm
Maryland	One Maryland Collective	The Best is Ahead Foundation	Hard Shell Collective	Turtle Athletic Foundation
Michigan	Champions Circle	Stadium & Main	Hail! Impact
Michigan State	SD4L	This is Sparta!
Minnesota	Dinkytown Athletes
Nebraska	The 1890 Initiative	Big Red Collaborative
Northwestern	TrueNU
Oregon	Division Street	Ducks Rising
Pennsylvania State	Happy Valley United
Purdue	Boilermaker Alliance
Rutgers	Knights of The Raritan	Knight Society
Southern Cal	House of Victory	Conquest Collective	The TOMMY Group
UCLA	Men of Westwood
Washington	Montlake Futures	Montlake Players	1861 Foundation
Wisconsin	The Varsity Collective

Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com

Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC