University Of Tennessee To Charge Additional “10% Talent Fee” On Tickets Next Season To Fund Their NIL Program

Somehow, tickets just got even more expensive. If you are trying to go see the University of Tennessee football play in Rocky Top, you are going to pay the price for your seats next year - and then some . The Volunteers program has decided to get ahead of what is called revenue sharing, which could come to college sports as early as next year. That just means that schools will soon start to share money from TV contracts and ticket sales with student athletes (to pay them) if they choose to opt in. And you might be asking, "Well how are they going to do that? And where is the money going to come from?" The answers to those two questions, respectively, are, "They'll figure it out as they go, just like the rest of NIL has worked so far" and " YOU are going to pay the extra money that goes to athletes." That's at least what the University of Tennessee is banking on, as they are opting to add a "10% talent fee" to all of their football tickets starting in 2025. As explained below by Brett McMurphy below, the fee on top of the regular ticket price will fund the school's revenue sharing program: https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1836062745998815384 Translation: If you thought tickets to college sporting events were already expensive, just you wait. Looking at this from a business standpoint, adding on the 10% fee makes sense. You've got to generate an assured amount of money somewhere, and if the money is going to the student athletes, why not slap the price on the people that come to watch the games? But from a fan perspective, it's just seems like another way for colleges and universities to push the bill on the consumer, rather than figuring out a way to handle the generating revenue for revenue sharing internally. And this could easily back fire on UT, considering there won't be a "10% talent fee" for fans to sit in the comfort of their own home and watch the game. In case you wanted to see it, here's the video that Tennessee sent out to season tickets holders via email letting them know in a fun, upbeat way that (with energetic music playing in the background) that they need to prepare to fork over even more money to keep their seats next season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JztRtFwK_k