What It Costs to Run the Penn State Football Team

Penn State Athletics set records for revenue and spending during the 2023-24 fiscal year, with the football program leading the way.

A general view inside of Beaver Stadium prior to the game between Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Penn State Nittany in the first round of the College Football Playoff. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State Athletics has released its latest financial report, which details the dollars spent on everything from football to field hockey. The report covers a ton of interesting ground, while leaving a few questions, but overall paints a positive picture of Penn State sports' fiscal health.

Let's dive into some of the specifics of the financial report, with a bit of an explainer. The report covers the 2023-24 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2023 to June 20, 2024. That includes Penn State's 2023 football season, in which the Nittany Lions went 10-3 and played in the Peach Bowl. It also includes Mike Rhoades' first season as Penn State men's basketball coach. That said, here's some of what we learned from Penn State's 2023-24 financial report.

Penn State Athletics generated record revenue again

Penn State increased revenue by nearly $19 million during the 2023-24 fiscal year, generating a record $220.7 million. That represented a 9.2 percent increase over the previous year, when Penn State sports generated $200 million in revenue for the first time in school history.

Penn State, of course, also spent more money on sports than it ever has. The expense budget topped $215 million, about $13 million more than the previous year. Penn State generated a $5.6 million surplus, a net positive with revenue sharing and the Beaver Stadium renovation in progres.

Penn State football continues to raise the financial bar

Why is Penn State spending $700 million to renovate Beaver Stadium? Because the stadium creates the bulk of the athletic department's revenue. Penn State football home games generated nearly $56.7 million in revenue between ticket sales and gameday sales. Penn State sold $44.4 in football tickets during the 2023 season, a $2.5 million increase over the previous Rose Bowl season.

Penn State also generated about $12.3 million from football parking and concessions. That's a $4.5 million increase over the previous season. A full season of beer sales at Beaver Stadium is responsible for some of that uptick.

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Football is Penn State's fiscal lifeblood

You knew that, but the annual financial report reinforces the essential nature of Penn State football to a self-funding athletic department. The football program generated about $113.2 million in total revenue, which included about $48 million in media rights and Big Ten distributions. Penn State claimed $35.8 million in media rights revenue for football and about $12 million from the Big Ten in bowl and non-bowl revenue.

The football stream represented more than 51 percent of Penn State Athletics' total revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Penn State football generated a net surplus of $48.7 million.

What does Penn State football spend on a season?

Penn State spent nearly $64.5 million on its football team during the 2023-24 fiscal year. That's about $1.8 million more than it did during the Rose Bowl season. Where did that money go? The top line items:

• Coaching salaries: $20.8 million

• Game expenses: $9.1 million

• Administration/staff salaries: $7.2 million

• Scholarships: $6.2 million

• Bowl expenses: $3.6 million

• Direct overhead and administrative expenses: $3.3 million

• Recruiting operations: $2.8 million

• Guarantees to opponents: $2.4 million

• Travel: $1.6 million

• Coaching bowl bonuses: $1 million

• Severance payments: $900,000

How many Penn State teams make money?

Two: Football and men's basketball. The remaining 29 varsity programs operated at a deficit, according to the 2023-24 financial report. As noted, Penn State football generated a surplus of $48.7 million. Men's basketball had a surplus of $575,853, largely because it received about $9.4 million in media rights and conference distributions. However, Penn State leases time for the Bryce Jordan Center from the university, which cuts into that revenue.

Penn State wrestling, which won a national championship during the 2023-24 fiscal year, operated at a net deficit of $2 million. Women's basketball had a deficit of $4.7 million. The sports outside of football and basketball operated at a deficit of $31.6 million.

A few other notes from Penn State's financial report

Penn State's reported contributions were about $3.7 million lower than the previous year. The total of $37million included $4.3 million in football contributions, about $3 million lower than the previous year. The report does not explain the difference.

Penn State's financial report includes a listing of $32.4 million called "other operating revenue," which was $12 million higher than the previous year. One reason: Beaver Stadium hosted more than 73,000 concert-goers in April 2024 for the lone Pennsylvania stop of Luke Combs' "Growin' Up and Gettin' Old Tour." That's a nice boost for Penn State, which wants Beaver Stadium to be a year-round entertainment destination.

Penn State's next financial report likely will be the last without a revenue sharing component. If the NCAA vs. House settlement is approved, Penn State will be eligible to share up to $21 million in revenue with athletes beginning July 1, which also starts the next fiscal year. So that won't show up on the financial report Penn State releases in early 2026.

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