Bolstered by new television contracts with CBS and ESPN, the Southeastern Conference announced Friday that it will distribute a record $209 million to its 12 member institutions for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31.
The total represents a staggering 57.7 percent increase from the $132.5 million distributed by the league a year ago.
This athletic year began the league’s 15-year agreements with CBS and ESPN. CBS is paying the SEC $800 million over the 15 years; ESPN is paying the conference $2.25 billion.
As part of the league’s revenue-sharing plan, each of the 12 schools will receive an average of $17.3 million.
The entire SEC didn’t receive that much 20 years ago, as money distributions by decade have catapulted from $4.1 million in 1980 to $16.3 million in 1990 to $73.2 million in 2000 to $209 million in 2010.