How much does it cost USC to buy a victory?
The South Carolina (2-4) football team needs a victory, and UMass (1-6) on Saturday seems to be just the ticket. But it’ll be costly.
USC is paying UMass a $1.5 million guarantee for the game on Saturday, almost twice as much as it will pay any other non-conference opponent, according to its 2016-17 projected football revenues.
Net ticket sales are projected at $1,073,143, a total of $426,857 less than the guarantee UMass will receive.
In its other two non-conference home games, USC paid $850,000 to ECU and will pay $400,000 to Western Carolina.
By the numbers
A look at the numbers for the UMass game from USC’s FY 2016-17 projected football revenues:
Gross Ticket Sales ($25 per ticket): $1,618,000
-- Bond Fee ($8 Per Ticket): $491,200
= Net Income: $1,126,800
-- Admission taxes: $53,657
= Net Ticket Sales: $1,073,143
-- Guarantee Paid to UMass: $1,500,000
= Difference: ($426,857)
This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 3:47 PM with the headline "How much does it cost USC to buy a victory?."