One of the sticking points during the conference realignment rush over the past two weeks involved concern over revenue sharing. Television revenues are distributed and shared in different ways across different conferences and at times the perception has been that the difference between the "haves" and "have nots" is fairly substantial.
To some extent that is true. The spread in the Big 12 over the most recently reported academic year ranges from Oklahoma at the high end with a $12.2 million to Kansas State at the low end with $8.4 million.
A four million dollar difference is nothing to sneeze at, but at the same time it's not as if Oklahoma is walking away with an ridiculous percentage of the revenue. Their 12.2 million equates to 10% of the overall revenue distributed to a 12 team conference.
Contrast this plan with the Big 10 style plan of equal distribution where every Big 12 team would have received $10.1 million.
Since Kansas is the concern around here, how have we fared? '09-'10 numbers have not been released but when you look at the past two seasons the Jayhawk programs have been coming out ahead. How far up the list Kansas actually is might even be a bit of a surprise.
Big 12 2008-09 Revenue Sharing
1. Oklahoma, $12.2 million
2. Texas, $11.8 million
3. Kansas, $11.5 million
4. Missouri, $10.4 million
5. Texas A&M, $10.2 million
6. Oklahoma State, $10.0 million
7. Colorado, $9.77 million
8. Nebraska, $9.73 million
9. Texas Tech, $9.2 million
10. Baylor, $9.1 million
11. Iowa State, $8.9 million
12. Kansas State, $8.4 million
Big 12 2007-08 Revenue Sharing
1. Texas: $10.2 million
2. Oklahoma: $9.8 million
3. Kansas: $9.24 million
4. Texas A&M: $9.22 million
5. Nebraska: $9.1 million
6. Missouri: $8.4 million
7. Texas Tech: $8.23 million
8. Kansas State: $8.21 million
9. Oklahoma State: $8.1 million
10. Colorado: $8.0 million
11. Iowa State: $7.4 million
12. Baylor: $7.1 million
Considering television appearances during '09-'10 it would be a fairly safe bet that Kansas again finished in the top half of the conference. All in all that isn't such a bad deal if you are Kansas. The notion that Big Brother Texas is bullying us into a corner might be true for some schools, but it sure would appear that this is a win for the Jayhawks.
For sake of comparison to other conferences and understanding how realistic the bolstered revenue claims by Beebe really are, let's remove the Nebraska and Colorado portions. After that, redistribute it accordingly to the remaining teams based on the '08-'09 numbers. This is a little oversimplifying the actual formula, but it's a very high level overview.
Big 12(-2) Hypothetical Revenue Sharing
Based on '08-'09 Distributions
1. Oklahoma, $14.2 million
2. Texas, $13.7 million
3. Kansas, $13.35 million
4. Missouri, $12.1 million
5. Texas A&M, $11.8 million
6. Oklahoma State, $11.6 million7. Colorado, $9.77 million8. Nebraska, $9.73 million
9. Texas Tech, $10.7 million
10. Baylor, $10.6 million
11. Iowa State, $10.3 million
12. Kansas State, $9.75 million
This would be with the current television deal, and the remaining ten teams. Not a bad picture really. Granted every Big 10 team did clear $17 million based on their equal revenue distribution over the same time frame, but it is fairly well documented that the Big 12 is working off an old television contract that should improve when renegotiated.
If the powers that be can truly go out and command the dollars they've claimed, it's not too difficult to see where the Big 12 could be approaching a level much closer to the heavy hitters in the SEC and Big 10.
Is it even across the board? Not at all, but based on what the numbers show Kansas has done a fairly nice job of getting on enough TV sets to make this scenario a win. Now are you glad we didn't end up in the Big East?