Tennessee has included a 10 percent 'talent fee' to increase ticket prices for the 2025 football season

The University of Tennessee has a top-ranked football team, record-breaking finances and another plan to use the former to build the latter — with an eye toward the future.

The university announced that a 10 percent “talent fee” will be added to ticket prices for the 2025 football season in preparation for the arrival of revenue sharing with college athletes. That, along with the initial 4.5 percent average increase, means Vols fans will pay an average of 14.5 percent more for tickets next season.

“Under the current settlement estimate, which could take effect as early as July 1, 2025, institutions may share revenue with their student-athletes,” the university said in a statement announcing the rate hike.

Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California declined to rule earlier this month on preliminary approval of the multibillion-dollar settlement in House v. NCAA because of language that would limit third-party names, images and similar payments to athletes. boosters and joint. Wilken suggested lawyers on both sides “go back to the drawing board” on a settlement that would provide $2.75 billion in back-pay compensation for former Division I athletes and implement a revenue-sharing model between power-conference schools and athletes.

A May news release about the settlement described the revenue sharing as “in addition to scholarships, third-party NIL payments, health care and other benefits already received by college athletes.” It estimated that over the course of the 10-year settlement, the total value “will exceed $20 billion, making it one of the largest antitrust class-action settlements in history.”

Tennessee has made huge financial gains since hiring athletic director Danny White in 2021, setting a record with $202.1 million in revenue in the 2022-23 fiscal year — shattering the previous fiscal year's record of $154.6 million. Part of the aggressive fundraising strategy, and totaled $131.45 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

This includes per-seat grant programs for basketball, baseball and softball teams. When White arrived, Tennessee only had that program for football.

Now Tennessee is asking for more while projecting to account for revenue sharing, which is expected to allow schools to spend more than $20 million on athletics in the first year the settlement takes effect. UT is offering appointments for season-ticket holders to discuss the matter at https://links.engage.ticketmaster.com and invites emailed questions to tnfund@utk.edu.

Why is Tennessee doing this?

Athletic departments are trying to prepare to meet the rising costs on their way, and some athletic directors have issued public warnings that the process may include cutting sports or otherwise trimming department expenses. Meanwhile, wealthier programs are looking for more revenue rather than significant cuts from their budgets, and Tennessee may not be the last such program to try to outspend fans.

“We will continue to grow our other revenue streams and be efficient with our spending to maximize expected full revenue share allocations,” Tennessee said in its release. “There has never been a time in college sports where winning has been so closely correlated with revenue growth.”

Tennessee's Spire Sports Collective was one of the first in college sports to aggressively raise money and use the new NIL rules to acquire talent in 2021, and Tennessee baseball won its first national championship in June. But Tennessee football is 26 years removed from its last national championship and SEC championship, and the Vols have never made the College Football Playoff. That running back gives Tennessee athletics an appeal that SEC contenders such as Georgia and Alabama lack.

And donor fatigue is a very real concern in college athletics. “We're now in the third year of the NIL, and many school donors aren't getting a return on their investment,” said Jason Belzer, founder of the Student Athlete NIL Agency, which advises about 50 groups. athleticSeth Emerson's earlier this year. “Before you at least get your name on the building. Now you pay for salaries and your team can't win.”

(Photo: Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images)