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Report: College Football Playoff revenue distribution takes near $45 million hit
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The pandemic took a major bite out of the College Football Playoff’s revenue distribution this past season, according to a report from Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal.
Per the report, the College Football Playoff saw a $44.6 million hit to its revenue following the 2020-21 season. That number was a 9.2% decrease from the revenue of the previous year. Smith reports that a big reason behind that is because of limited attendance at venues for the games.
Every Power 5 conference saw an approximate $10 million dip in College Football Playoff revenue, as well.
An extremely limited number of fans were permitted to attend the three College Football Playoff games during this season — Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and National Championship Game. Just 3,000 spectators were permitted for the Sugar Bowl matchup between Clemson and Ohio State, while over 18,000 were allowed at AT&T Stadium for the (relocated) Rose Bowl.
The National Championship Game, held at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, saw 14,926 fans attend.
There’s a lot of optimism that attendance will be back to normal for the 2021 college football season, which would also include the College Football Playoff games. Already, many schools at the Power 5 level have released plans for full capacity stadiums this fall.
Still, the College Football Playoff and Power 5 conferences saw a significant decline in revenue this past year. Right now, it doesn’t seem like that will be as big of a concern this year.
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