In an email sent to football season ticket holders Tuesday, the University of Tennessee announced single ticket and season ticket prices will rise 14.5% in 2025 in order to better position itself to compensate UT athletes.
As reported by Sportico, Vols athletic director Danny White said in a video posted by the athletic department that a minimum 10% of that will account for a “talent fee” as the school looks to “be a leader in revenue sharing.”
White said the 10 percent will help fund the revenue-sharing pool committed to athletes as part of the proposed House, Carter and Hubbard antitrust lawsuit settlements with the NCAA. (The remaining 4.5% will reflect athletic department expenses, food, travel and the renovation of Neyland Stadium.)
White also said Tennessee couldn’t wait for the settlements to be approved in the courts to act in the best interest of the athletes, and administering the fee shortly before next season wouldn’t work for the fans.
Season ticket renewals for 2025 begin next week. Tennessee already doubled the prices of student tickets this season from $10 to $20, and those will go up an additional $5 next season, Sportico reported.
For one observer, the timing is perfect. "Tennessee football isn’t just hot, it’s scalding hot. And as the saying goes, you strike while the iron is hot," wrote Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. "Tennessee announced Tuesday that it is increasing football season ticket prices in 2025, including a 10 percent hike specifically billed as a “talent fee” to increase revenue available for the athletic department to distribute to players. I think it’s a very wise move by athletic director Danny White, not least because the Vols are 3-0 and ranked No. 6 in the AP poll after decimating their first three opponents by a combined score of 191-13."
But there was immediate backlash among fans, as reported by Athlon Sports.
"Billion dollar TV deals and the fans are the ones who have to pay the players," one wrote.
"I get wanting to compensate the players through the NIL collective. However, they have already priced an ordinary fan like myself out of the market. Guess I’ll have to sit home and watch it on my 65” tv?" another added.
"Slowly losing the best parts of college football experiences family traditions hang in the balance. Sad," another said.
"People should boycott," another wrote, according to Athlon Sports.
According to Sporitco, an athletic department spokesperson released the following statement on the school’s support of the plan: “We at the University of Tennessee believe in sharing resources with our student-athletes and will continue to pursue ways to do so through our regulatory environment (NCAA, SEC, State of Tennessee).”
