Expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams last year allowed certain participants to host a first-round game, a prospect that proved quite lucrative for eventual national champion Ohio State.
According to Joey Kaufman of The Columbus Dispatch, citing financial data obtained through a public records request, the Ohio State athletic department netted $5.1 million in revenue from its home game that saw the Buckeyes rout Tennessee last December.
"The total earnings were limited by the postseason structure, which has schools sharing most of their revenue tied to hosting a game in the first round with the CFP," Kaufman wrote. While Ohio State grossed $19.7 million, it paid nearly $14 million to the CFP. It also had $651,000 in payments to staff and security."
Ticket revenue alone brought in $15 million, thanks to an announced crowd of 102,819 at Ohio Stadium. Other revenue included $1.3 million from concessions, parking and merchandise sales and $67,000 in premium seating food and beverage sales. Like other host schools, Ohio State also received $3 million from the CFP to assist with its operating expense, Kaufman reported.
"The net revenue from the first-round game was not insignificant for Ohio State’s athletic department, which was looking to climb out of the red last year," he wrote. "After operating at a deficit of nearly $38 million during the 2024 fiscal year, it sought a spike in profit over the following fiscal year that ended on June 30."
“It was huge,” athletic director Ross Bjork said, “because we had to finish with a surplus. That was the objective. That was how we mapped out the budget going into fiscal year 2025.”
Bjork said initial budget projections for the 2025 fiscal year did not factor potential income from a home CFP game.
“A $5 million net is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you didn’t budget for it, and then you look at the competitive piece," Bjork said, as reported by The Dispatch. "You don’t want to host, because you want to be in the top-four, you want the bye. Now in this case, it worked in our favor.”
