Top SEC contender announces massive ticket price increase called ‘talent fee’ for star players

The Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) era has changed college football forever, even in the SEC. Now that athletes are finally being paid for their contributions to their universities, each college is taking a different approach to their finances.

But we’ve never quite heard of a program handling things the way the Tennessee Volunteers have.

Related: Heisman Watch 2024

SEC’s Tennessee Volunteers impose ‘talent fee’ to season ticket holders

The Tennessee Volunteers are finding new ways to compromise after being forced to pay their student athletes. But many are hoping it doesn’t become a trend in the college football landscape, or anywhere for that matter.

According to Front Office Sports, Tennessee has recently informed all football season ticket holders that they’ll now have to pay a 10% “talent fee” in 2025 to help pay players their NIL money.

Tennessee says, “ We want to be a leader in revenue sharing .”

To be fair, the Volunteers have consistently been one of the top football teams in the SEC since head coach Josh Heupel arrived in 2021. They’ve gone 30-12 under Heupel, while featuring one of the most exciting, high-scoring offenses in college football.

Yet, no one will like the idea of having the fans essentially pay Tennessee college football’s expenses, even if that means putting a better product on the field. We’ll see how it works out for them and if other college football programs follow suit, depending on how much backlash Tennessee receives.

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