Report: Big Ten reached $928 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024, Kevin Warren received $5.75 million bonus

The Big Ten saw a 5.5% increase in total revenue during fiscal year 2024, according to tax documents obtained by USA Today. The conference’s new media rights deal kicked in during that time.

According to the documents, the Big Ten generated over $928 million in revenue, which is an increase from the $880 million during the 2023 fiscal year. That means the conference distributed roughly $63.2 million to each of its 12 longest-standing schools, USA Today reported – up from $60.5 million the previous fiscal year.

Additionally, former commissioner Kevin Warren received a $5.75 million bonus during the 2023 calendar year, per the documents. During that year, Warren left to become the Chicago Bears’ president and CEO, and a Big Ten spokesperson told USA Today the bonus came from the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, “for his accomplishments over his full tenure as commissioner, including his contributions to the new TV rights deal.”

After Warren’s departure, Tony Petitti took over as commissioner. During the eight months he was on conference payroll, he received $2.65 million in compensation, per the documents. The compensation included a $500,000 bonus and pro-rated base pay.

Fiscal year 2024 marked the start of the Big Ten’s lucrative media rights agreement, which is worth $7 billion over seven years. The conference continued its partnership with FOX while adding CBS and NBC to the mix to create a weekly tripleheader. FOX has the early game as part of its Big Noon Kickoff package while the Big Ten took the SEC’s coveted 3:30 p.m. ET window on CBS after it signed a deal with ESPN. NBC then gets the primetime slot for its Big Ten Saturday Night package of games.

However, CBS phased in its Big Ten coverage because it still had an agreement in place with the SEC during the 2023 season. As a result, the Big Ten media deal didn’t fully kick in until July 1, 2024.

Of course, that additional revenue will be dispersed among more teams after a groundbreaking round of conference realignment. Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington all joined the Big Ten last season after leaving the Pac-12. As part of their entry to the league, USC and UCLA will receive full revenue shares right away while Oregon and Washington will phase in – similarly to Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers after they joined.