Can BYU Afford $20M Annually in Athlete Revenue Share?

Nov 19, 2022; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe after a game against the Utah Tech Trailblazers at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

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Thursday was a historical day in the world of college sports. For the first time in over 100 years, the NCAA and the Power Five conferences agreed to allow schools to directly pay players. The agreement comes as part of a settlement for a handful of antitrust cases. As reported by ESPN, "The parties a have agreed to a revenue-sharing plan allowing each school to share up to roughly $20 million per year with its athletes."This major change will impact every Power Four team in the near future, including BYU. BYU could pay its athletes up to $20 million

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 annually in revenue share. That's, of course, if BYU can afford it.That significant "if" isn't unique to BYU. Schools across the country are concerned about the prospect of paying $20 million annually to their athletes. Not because they don't have enough revenue to go around - they certainly do. Over the last couple decades in college sports, however, major college athletic departments have been in an arms race to build the best facilities, hire the biggest staffs, and pay for every competitive advantage imaginable. If they've earned a dollar, they've spent that dollar. These athletic departments haven't been making a profit to pay shareholders - they've been spending everything they make in the name of winning.

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Can those schools really unwind those costs to absorb $20 million annually? Some simply will not be able to afford it. Most importantly, will BYU be able to afford it?

First and foremost, we know that BYU athletics is financially independent. They say as much on their website. "BYU Athletics is self-sustaining and receives no tithing or tax dollars to run its programs." Second, while we can't look at BYU's financials to confirm, it's pretty safe to assume that BYU does not spend more than they earn. That would go directly against the church's council to spend within your means. For the purpose of this article, we will assume that BYU has been spending within its means.

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