The ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 intend to jointly publicize their 2023 tax returns Friday, according to two people familiar with the leagues’ plans.
The four conferences have in previous years coordinated the release of their IRS 990 forms, which are typically first reported on by USA Today. By divulging them in concert, the news coverage tends to focus on the group as a whole, and not necessarily individual leagues and their financial particulars. (The SEC already released its return in February.)
However, Friday’s synchronized news dump would be noteworthy. For one thing, the IRS’ deadline to file the returns was this past Wednesday, more than a week before the leagues are planning to make them public. Moreover, the relationship between the biggest conferences has grown increasingly fractious, as the Big Ten and SEC further separate themselves from the others, and the Pac-12 hovers on the edge of extinction due to poaching by its peers.
In August 2021, the commissioners of the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 formed “The Alliance,” what they called a “gentleman’s agreement” to stick together amid looming chaos. Less than three years later, two of the three commissioners are gone, the Big Ten has pillaged the Pac-12’s four most valuable schools, the ACC took two more—but now faces exit lawsuits from veteran members Florida State and Clemson–and the Pac-12 is down to just two members. After a contentious legal battle, those two schools, Washington State and Oregon State, reached a settlement with the 10 defectors, each of whom will cough up $5 million from the 2023-24 conference revenue distributions along with an additional $1.5 million.
Representatives from all four conferences said their particular filings would be available soon, but did not specify when. A Big Ten spokesperson noted that the conferences had historically released them on or around the same day. One source who spoke to Sportico emphasized that the current disclosure plan was not “set in stone,” and could change this week.
There’s at least one other area where the four leagues are still working together—in court. Facing multiple antitrust lawsuits, including one called a possible “death knell” for their business, the NCAA and its major conferences are currently in the middle of settlement talks that could simultaneously provide some legal relief, reduce the potential financial exposure related to that litigation, and create a framework for athletes to share more directly in the billions they help generate.
According to reports, the various conferences are set to have their member presidents vote on whether to accept the terms of the proposed House v. NCAA settlement before the end of the month.
The current negotiations have settled on a $2.78 billion agreement, according to a two-page summary the ACC recently shared among its member schools, with the revenue generated by athletic departments playing a critical role in the calculus. (The document was first reported on by Yahoo Sports.)
The synopsis, which appears on ACC letterhead and is stamped “attorney-work product,” explained that the $2.78 billion payout would be paid over a 10-year period, and would permit schools to offer additional compensation to athletes up to a specific cap. That limit is defined as 22% of the average revenue from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships among the 64 so-called “Power Five” schools, a figure that’s likely in the $20 million to $30 million per year range.
The yet-to-be-disclosed tax returns—and the financial information they reveal—could shape public opinion about the proposed House settlement, which has already begun to receive criticism from college athlete advocates and the larger college sports commentariat. Among other things, the returns will include top-line revenue and expense figures; total assets and liabilities; compensation of the leagues’ highest-paid employees and former employees who received severance; distributions to members; and highest-paid independent contractors.