The playoff era is already proving to be somewhat of a financial boon for college football programs and conferences across the board.
According to a report by the Associated Press, bowl games paid out more than a half billion to college football conferences and schools, the most ever and an increase of more than $200 million compared to last season.
The AP cites an NCAA report released Tuesday, which shows the 39 postseason FBS games distributed $505.9 million to participating conferences and schools. Schools spent $100.2 million to participate in bowl games.
During the 2013-14 season, the final season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), 35 postseason games paid out $309.9 million while participating schools spent $97.8 million on bowl expenses.
The AP notes that the reason for the uptick in revenue is because of the multi-million dollar media deal to broadcast the College Football Playoff games and the four other top-level bowl games.
ESPN signed an agreement in 2012 that shelled out about $470 million per year for the media rights to broadcast the three College Football Playoff games and the four of the other major bowl games through 2025.
-----
Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
