Big-money guarantee games return to college
Non-conference games were among the most notable things lacking from college football in 2020. As fall sports open under a new normal, no one is going to be happier about the return of these games than the athletics directors who still are dealing with the financial and scheduling impacts of last year’s cancellations.
More than $171 million is scheduled to exchange hands this season for Football Bowl Subdivision non-conference games, according to a USA TODAY Sports analysis. Because these contests are not governed by conference scheduling, these so-called “guarantee” games are set up under contracts negotiated between individual schools. Deals for non-conference games almost always include an appearance payment to the visiting team.
USA TODAY Sports used public-records requests to obtain the contracts for 291 of 325 non-conference games scheduled by FBS teams this season. The school bringing in the most money is Kent State, with guarantees worth $5.2 million. In addition to Kent State, 45 schools are set to make over $1 million off guarantees in 2021.
Ohio State and Oregon will play in Columbus on Sept. 11, and Ohio State’s $3.5 million guarantee to Oregon is the top-paying game not involving third parties this season. Third parties are organizations outside of the two competing schools – such as ESPN or Peach Bowl, Inc. – that pay one or both teams for things like broadcast rights, participating in a bowl game or playing at a neutral site. Excluding money from third parties, 50 games in which one school is paying another a $1 millionplus guarantee account for nearly $72 million of the overall total.
But one year after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in cancellations, there is a bigger story behind the money.
The pandemic forced changes – big and small – to the landscape of these games. Contracts were amended, games were postponed, and force majeure language allowing no-obligation cancellations due to unforeseen circumstances was changed. The pandemic also could change how the market for non-conference games operates.
Smaller schools that often rely on guarantee games to finance their athletics programs continue to feel the ripple effects of Covid-related cancellations. Kent State was one of the programs hit hardest.
The Golden Flashes were scheduled to play Penn State, Kentucky and Alabama in 2020, and when the pandemic prompted cancellation of all three, Kent State lost $5 million in revenue. Penn State has announced that game has been rescheduled for 2024.
“Pretty much all of college football in that year decided not to charge each other for those missed games,” said Greg Glaus, senior deputy athletics director at Kent State, who joined the staff in May 2021. “I know we’ve had some good conversations with some of those opponents as far as maybe some future dates.”
New Mexico State and Louisianamonroe were significantly impacted by cancellations. The Aggies were scheduled to play at UCLA and at Florida, two Power Five schools that highlighted their independent schedule.
“We ended last fiscal year with a $3.5 million loss. Those games alone added up to $2.725 million,” New Mexico State athletics director Mario Moccia said. “That was a massive percentage of our overall loss. It just shows, if you’re just going to play those two games, the economic impact wouldn’t have been nearly as drastic for us.”
Contracts for non-conference games usually include language excusing teams from any financial obligations covered in the agreement if certain unforeseen events occur. The language in this section of the deals protected UCLA and Florida from paying New Mexico State for cancelled games and from having any obligation to reschedule.
While some cancelled contests might be rescheduled, that doesn’t fix the financial problems schools are facing now.