In a move that could signal a shift in college athletics, the University of Tennessee informed season-ticket holders that ticket prices will increase by an average of 14.5% next season.
While price hikes are common across sports, Tennessee’s announcement is notable because a significant portion of the increase will go directly toward paying players.
The school introduced a 10% surcharge, referred to as a “talent fee,” which will contribute to a revenue-sharing pool for athletes as early as next season.
This comes as universities are inching closer to directly compensating players, a marked departure from the NCAA’s long-standing tradition of maintaining athletes’ amateur status.
“We’ve come a long way in the last few years. In this new era, it’s going to get a lot more expensive,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White told Knox News.
“But there’s also going to be a closer relationship between resources and competition than there ever has been before. And our biggest asset is our fan base.”
The shift comes as the NCAA approaches a settlement in the House’s antitrust case, which would allow schools to share revenue with athletes.
For decades, the NCAA has maintained that players are student-athletes and should not be paid directly by schools.
In recent years, any money athletes have earned through name, image, and likeness deals has come from third-party sponsors and booster collectives.
The anticipated settlement would permit schools to pay athletes through the revenue-sharing pool, potentially reducing the role of third-party payments.
Future payments from outside sources could also require approval from a clearinghouse before any deals with players are finalized.
Tennessee’s decision may signal a larger trend, with other schools likely to follow suit once the NCAA finalizes the revenue-sharing structure.
As White suggests, fan support will play a pivotal role in helping schools adjust to this new era of college sports.
Tennessee’s decision has split opinions across the college football world.
While many understand the move and admire the Vols’ leadership finding a creative way to stay extra-competitive in the NIL world, others find the move to be extremely greedy.
You can count ESPN’s Paul Finebaum as one who despises the dirty move.
“Utterly disgraceful,” Finebaum said. “By the way, they’ve already raised ticket prices on top of that. These are the people who support the program, the folks of Tennessee who buy tickets whether they can afford them or not because they love the Vols and the athletic director there just slapped this on as a surcharge.
“They didn’t ask. They can raise the money independently but now they’re forcing good people who buy tickets and support the program to pay more money so young players can get NIL. I realize it’s a sign of the times and will probably happen other places, but it still makes me sick to my stomach.”
As Finebaum mentioned, you will probably see many more schools copy Tennessee’s strategy.
Where do you stand on the matter?
Do you agree with Finebaum that it’s a “disgraceful” move? … Or do you take it as a necessary evil???