Tennessee sports to charge 10% "talent fee" for tickets to all events

We all knew that the price of supporting a college athletic department was going to increase dramatically given the current landscape of the NCAA. Thus, we all should have known that universities would find a way to pass that cost onto the fans.

That's what Tennessee has announced it is doing. In a groundbreaking move, the Volunteer Athletic Department has announced that it will be charging a 10% "talent fee" on tickets to all sporting events starting in 2025.

Breaking this news in an email to football season ticket holders on Tuesday, Athletic Director Danny White said in a video that this move is, "part of an extensive plan to continue our dominance in college athletics and build something like never seen before.

"In this era of name, image, and likeness (NIL), there has never been as close a connection between resources and competitive success. We want to be a leader in college sports. That means we want to be a leader in revenue sharing."

This move is directly tied to the NCAA's revenue-sharing plan, which is scheduled to begin next fall. That came about as part of a settlement between the NCAA and power conferences in the House vs. NCAA case that mandates schools share up to $22 million of their annual revenue with athletes.

As a result, universities across the nation are having to figure out how to increase revenue so that they do not have to cut non-revenue-generating sports. Certainly, Tennessee won't be the only program to raise ticket prices but it is the first to openly admit that it is doing so to pay its athletes.

"Ya'll wanted a winner, and our teams have responded in big and bold ways," White told fans in the video. "... We've just begun this thing."

It will be interesting to see how the public reacts to this move. Will the university's transparency pay dividends by helping fans understand why their ticket prices are increasing? Or, will there be a pocket of traditionalists who don't like the idea of paying college athletes?

Additionally, Tennessee is upping football ticket prices by 4.5%. That is likely to help cover the cost of scholarship limits being raised from 85 to 105 per team.

Football ticket renewals begin Thursday and will run through February. Fans will be allowed to spread their payments out over ten months to help offset the costs. But regardless of how you slice the pie, the cost of staying competitive in college athletics is skyrocketing. And that cost is eventually going to fall at the feet of the fans which is unfortunate, even when universities are transparent about passing the buck.