Retired Big Ten commissioner receives hefty revenue share payday
Jim Delany's tenure as Big Ten commissioner may be over, but he's still raking in the big bucks from the conference.
The Big Ten recently disclosed their revenue figures for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Most of the attention around the numbers were focused around the significant distribution payment each member school received , which came out to around $72 million. While that disbursement is certainly notable, there were some other intriguing figures including in the conference's announcement.
One such line item included a line item involving former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who served in the role from 1989 through 2020. It was reported that Delany received nearly $6 million during the 2024-2025 fiscal year in bonuses and deferred compensation, and was paid another $600,000 in consulting fees during the period. Jim Delany got the greatest retirement gift.
He’s been gone since 2020 and still received more than $6M last year. https://t. co/J14g8k4QuR — Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) May 3, 2026 The Big Ten has a history of sticking with a "gone, but not forgotten" credo.
The conference also awarded former commissioner Kevin Warren nearly $6 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year for his efforts in securing a historic media rights deal. Delany's retirement package is estimated to be around $20 million. Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads.