Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany is about to get paid.
According to a report from USA Today, Delany, now in his 29th year running the league, is set to receive more than $20 million in future bonus compensation. The findings come after the newspaper analyzed the conference's new federal tax return, comparing it to previous years' returns.
The new return — which the conference provided Friday in response to a request from USA TODAY Sports — states that in July 2015, Delany “became fully eligible for future bonus payments pursuant to his employment contract.”
As a result, the document said, the conference had to record the full amount of those future payments as an expense and a liability on the return covering its 2016 fiscal year, which ran from July 1 through June 30.
A comparison of the Big Ten’s new expense and liability amounts to those on prior years’ returns reveals the $20 million estimate.
You're probably reacting to this news in one of three ways:
- Good for Delany – he's earned every penny of it. He's more than doubled league revenue since 2010, up to $483.4 million with another jump in store when the new TV deal kicks in.
- That's fine and all, but tell me why athletes aren't compensated beyond their scholarships and a small stipend again.
- Are you sure it's not spelled Delaney. (It isn't.)
No. 1 and No. 2 are both valid responses.
