The SEC’s 10-year television contract with ABC and ESPN is worth about $3 billion, so one might conclude that the conference is set for life.
This could happen to you if you have been living in a cave. Not that living in a cave is a bad thing, but it could give you a distorted sense of financial matters.
Inflation is rising. And so are spending.
College football will soon begin sharing its revenue with college football players. Imagine that.
Revenue sharing will not mean the end of NIL deals. Players will continue to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. I suspect they will capitalize even more next year and the year after.
You think $300 million a year in television revenue for an entire conference will guarantee financial security for your member colleges? Don’t be silly.
One thing I have learned from my decades of reporting on college sports is that universities never have enough money – no matter how much the television networks give them.
Fortunately, the NCAA recognizes that colleges are still at risk of abject poverty despite the increased television contracts, so I expect they will allow corporate sponsor advertising on football fields this season.
This decision was not spontaneous. Both an NCAA panel and a committee signed it in a wonderful example of bureaucratic cooperation.
But don’t get me wrong: Players’ helmets won’t be tattooed with company logos. And the Aflac duck won’t be allowed to waddle along the sidelines next to a football coach.
Only three corporate advertisements will be allowed – one on the 50-yard line and two smaller ones at locations yet to be determined. And I am sure that such advertisements will be subtle and tasteful so as not to detract from the natural beauty of a football field.
That may be how it starts, but that is not how it will end.
The person who finds an oil well on their property declares, “Now everything is fine. Let’s plant some trees.” Instead, they will frantically search for more oil wells.
Once universities realize how much money they can make from corporate advertising, will they cry to the heavens, “That’s all we need”?
If you answered “yes,” go back to your cave.
I imagine a field full of commercials because there is so much free space available. As any self-respecting business leader will tell you, free space is wasted money.
I envision future playing fields with a corporate sponsor every 20 yards. A national automaker might sponsor a 10-yard line. A major insurance company might sponsor a 30-yard line. Of course, advertising at the goal line will cost more.
ADAM: College football players, not other athletes, should receive their revenue share
And why not use the goal posts too?
A corporate banner could be draped over the crossbar. Corporate flags could hang from the posts, which would then be the focus of attention for millions of spectators as a game-winning field goal attempt flies through the air.
The sky will continue to be uncovered by corporate logos – at least until a clever CEO figures out how to use this empty space.
John Adams is senior columnist. Reach him at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
