The Michigan Wolverines aren't exactly strapped for cash, especially in the wake of a massive apparel deal with Jordan Brand that is the first of its kind in college football. However, Michigan's affiliation with the Big Ten is reportedly providing quite a windfall for the 2018 fiscal year, especially when compared to the recent past.
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Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News reports that Michigan will draw more than $51 million from the conference and that is a jump of nearly $15 million from last fiscal year. The report also brings word from Michigan AD Warde Manuel, who spoke to the university's regents on Thursday with regard to financial matters.
"(We have) higher than anticipated conference distribution, higher than anticipated licensing revenue with the addition of Nike and Jordan Brand, who have been great partners of ours. Much of this ($2 million surplus) is the result of the new conference television agreement, and you'll see that we do have an increase in debt service with the buildings we're building on South campus."
"The amount of support that you see on the budget report really contributes to the success of our student-athletes in the classroom and on the field of play, so it is very, very helpful to us in terms of the impact on the budget."
Obviously, the Jordan Brand revenue is important in the mix but the notion that the Big Ten would be sending more than $50 million to one member institution for one year is noteworthy at the very least. The Big Ten's television contract and the changes to it are seen, according to the report, as the biggest impact for the increase but we know now that Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten should be very happy with their financial returns from the league.
