The Pac-12 saw its total revenue increase from $439M in FY '15 to $488M in FY '16, largely due to a $15M "bump in media rights" and a $27M increase in bowl revenue from the combined CFP and Rose Bowl payouts, according to Jon Wilner of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Expenses, which include payouts to the campuses, were $481M. The Pac-12 has an "escalator clause" in its deals with ESPN and Fox which led to the media-rights increase. The 14.3% increase in distributions to member schools was "in line with expectations, if not a tad higher." The conference sent $344M "back to the schools," which equates to 70.5% of revenues. That "represents a slight increase" over FY '15, when it distributed 68.5% of revenues. The average payout in FY '16 was $28.7M per school. Meanwhile, in its fourth year of existence, Pac-12 Networks reported $128M in income, a 10% year-over-year increase. The conference "doesn’t provide a breakout of expenses; those are wrapped into the the larger expense bucket." Nor does it "specify how much of the distributions to the campuses" come from Pac-12 Networks. However, sources "pegged that figure" at $2M per school in FY '16 (MERCURYNEWS.com, 5/16).
