NCAA President Mark Emmert Earned $ 2.9 Million As NCAA Revenue Dip Over 50%

NCAA President Mark Emmert earned $ 2.9 million in fiscal year 2019-20, a period in which closures related to the pandemic caused the organization’s revenue to plummet by more by 50%.

The organization grossed $ 521 million between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020, up from more than $ 1 billion in revenue the previous year, according to tax returns provided to ESPN on Monday. Much of that missing income was due to the cancellation of March Madness and other National Championship events due to COVID-19. NCAA spending also fell nearly 40% over the same period.

Emmert and other senior NCAA officials reported a slight pay rise during the year. Donald Remy, who was recently confirmed for a position in the Biden administration, earned $ 1.7 million as NCAA chief operating officer in the 2019-2020 year. Executive Vice President Stan Wilcox won $ 1.3 million.

The NCAA paid more than $ 68 million for legal advice and $ 500,000 to lobbyists in a year in which its amateur rules were criticized by both the judiciary and the legislature of government. . An NCAA spokesperson said about half of the legal fees were related to a build-up in NCAA v. Alston recently decided.

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in the Alston case made it clear that the NCAA is not exempt from antitrust law because of its academic foundations. The court’s opinion prompted many college sports executives, including Emmert, to recognize that a significant change in the NCAA’s system of governance may be needed.

Emmert told a small group of reporters last week that the NCAA should only impose the “bare minimum” of restrictions on college sports. He told reporters that the time has come for the governance of varsity athletics to take on a more decentralized structure.

Emmert was one of 10 NCAA employees who earned more than $ 500,000 in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The majority of the organization’s lost revenue came from the $ 702 million in lost media rights revenue due to the cancellation of the men’s basketball tournament. The NCAA recovered $ 241 million from insurance coverage.