re: Steele signs new 3 year deal

quote:

---

A little deeper dive into our budget numbers from Josh Vitale:

quote:

Auburn athletics reports record revenue, increased profit during 2018-19 fiscal year

AUBURN — Auburn's athletics department reported a record revenue of more than $152.4 million during the 2019 fiscal year, according to the university’s NCAA Membership Financial Report.

That's an increase of nearly $5 million from the 2017-18 total of $147.6 million, which was the previous record. It also marks the seventh straight year that revenues have increased.

Auburn's profit margin also rose, according to the annual report released to the Montgomery Advertiser on Thursday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request — the department reported an operating excess of nearly $13.2 million.

That's more than the $7.8 million total reported during the 2017-18 fiscal year, but not quite as high as the $14.6 million and $15.2 million in profit Auburn claimed in 2016-17 and 2015-16, respectively.

Auburn's operating expenses decreased, from $139.7 million in 2017-18 to $139.2 million in 2018-19.

The department actually made less money from ticket sales than it did the previous year ($31.9 million compared to $33.2 million), but earned an extra $1.67 million in media rights; $1.07 million in program, novelty, parking and concession sales; $747,344 in NCAA distributions; and $381,485 in conference distributions

The largest increase came from "guarantees," or money earned from participation in away games — Auburn earned $4.3 million in 2018-19 compared to just $44,000 the year before.

Auburn spent $1.48 million more on coaching salaries, but $948,983 less on administrative staff and $2.64 million less on severance payments for past coaches and administrators.

Football ($95.1 million) and men's basketball ($15.5 million) accounted for more than 70 percent of the department's revenue. Both sports made more than they did the previous year ($93.5 million and $11.2 million, respectively).

Those are the only two NCAA sports considered to be revenue earners. The rest of Auburn's programs operated at a loss of more than $29 million combined.

---