Big Mike passed out the checks in Destin this week and everybody’s impressed.
League commissioner Mike Slive capped another spring meeting in Destin, Fla., by announcing Friday afternoon that a record $289.4 million will be distributed to its institutions, or $20.7 million to each of the 14. The SEC distributed $241.5 million last spring when the league contained 12 members, with each school receiving $20.1 million.
“Obviously we passed out a bit of money to our folks,” Slive said in a news conference. “It’s the highest in our history, and we hope to be able to tell you that every year from here on out.”
Don’t throw your shoulder out with all that back patting, Commissioner. The thing is, if I’m doing the math correctly, had the conference remained at 12, Slive’s bounty would have amounted to around $24.1 million per school. That’s a difference of about $3.4 million, which ain’t exactly chicken scratch. (If bowl revenue is part of the equation, then the numbers would be slightly less, since TAMU went bowling. Same goes for March Madness and Missouri.)
The SEC Network had best be raining cash on these guys. Assuming anybody’s noticed…
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UPDATE: Bowl loot not included in the distribution.