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How much money will B1G teams earn or spend in Week 1?
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Revenue drives college football. It doesn’t take an economist to understand that.
But just how much money is spent or earned on a weekly basis isn’t something the common fan thinks about. Until USA Today gave the world the inside scoop, that is.
Steve Berkowitz of USA Today Sports compiled a database of every Week 1 game and laid out the monetary implications of each one. Some of the figures are absolutely ridiculous, especially for a few B1G teams.
First, here are the B1G teams that will be earning revenue in the first week of the season, according to the report:
- Michigan vs. Florida (neutral site) — $6 million for each team
- Purdue vs. Louisville (neutral site) — TBD: all expenses/revenue shared equally
- Maryland vs. Texas — $400,000
Considering those figures, the goal for every college football program should be to play in a high-profile, neutral-site game. $6 million is a pretty nice paycheck for one game.
On the other side, here are the B1G teams that are spending money to host a home game in Week 1:
- Arkansas State vs. Nebraska: $1.65 million
- Nevada vs. Northwestern: $1.3 million
- Utah State vs. Wisconsin: $1.2 million
- Wyoming vs. Iowa: $1 million
- Akron vs. Penn State: $1 million
- Buffalo vs. Minnesota: $900,000
- Bowling Green vs. Michigan State: $900,000
- Ball State vs. Illinois: $900,000
- Washington vs. Rutgers: $400,000
The nine B1G teams hosting a home game will spend a combined $9.2 million in the first week alone.
In addition to a home game, teams schedule home games against non-power conference teams in an attempt to secure a victory on the season.
If the visiting team pulls of an upset, it’s a win-win for those non-power programs.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB