Memphis received just over $11 million from the American Athletic Conference in the 2024 fiscal year, the biggest payout in the conference but one that still lagged eons behind even the lowest payouts among power conference teams.

The AAC reported $143,891,433 in revenue for the fiscal year, which ran from June 1, 2023 to May 30, 2024, according to federal tax documents. That was an increase of about $23 million from the year prior, but that can be attributed mostly to a $25 million exit payment from SMU, which left for the ACC in 2024.

The conference provided the documents in response to a request from The Commercial Appeal.

The revenue number illustrates the massive gap between the power conferences and the Group of Five. The Big Ten reported $928 million in revenue, while the SEC was at $840 million, the ACC at $711.4 million and the Big 12 reported $493.8 million.

Those numbers are one of the many reasons Memphis has long aspired to join a power conference. Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston left the AAC for the Big 12 in 2023 and already are receiving higher conference payouts. SMU was willing to forgo years of media rights payments in order to get into the ACC.

The gulf is likely to get wider as the House v. NCAA case nears a resolution. That settlement will mean the start of revenue sharing in college athletics, where schools will be allowed to directly pay players for the first time.

Where Memphis ranks in the AAC

The AAC does not distribute money evenly among its schools and instead has wide discrepancies between the highest and lowest payouts. Wichita State (which does not have football) received $3.3 million, while Memphis led the way at $11 million.

That was a change from the year before. SMU, Central Florida and Cincinnati were ahead of Memphis, but so was Tulane, which received $12.3 million in 2023. Tulane's number was down to $10.8 million in 2024, likely because the Green Wave played in the Cotton Bowl in early 2023 but did not make a New Year's Six bowl game in 2024.

These numbers are for total payouts and include money for elements such as NCAA postseason tournaments and media rights. The AAC received $70.1 million in TV and radio rights for the 2024 fiscal year.

Navy is a football-only member. Army, another football-only member, joined ahead of the 2024 season.

What these numbers mean for Memphis' future in the AAC

The numbers are from a year ago, and the fiscal year 2025 payouts are likely to be higher. But conference payouts are the metric that often gets thrown around during discussions about Memphis' future and a potential move to the Pac-12.

When Memphis decided in September 2024 to stay in the AAC and turn down an offer from the Pac-12, athletic director Ed Scott made it known that he considered the Pac-12's offer a "bad deal" and was concerned about the finances involved. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Pac-12 would have to offer Memphis a substantially higher payout than $11 million per year to get the Tigers to jump, especially considering the increase in travel costs and what would be an eight-figure payout to leave the AAC.

It still isn't clear, though, what the Pac-12's media deal will be or how much it will pay its members.

The Tigers have routinely been one of the top teams since the inception of the AAC. But while the conference was clearly ahead of the rest of the Group of Five for most of its history, that's no longer the case. For football, the Mountain West now has a claim as the best Group of Five conference, sending Boise State to the College Football Playoff last season. The Broncos are headed to the Pac-12 in 2026.

For men's basketball, the AAC is even further behind and had only one team — Memphis — in the NCAA Tournament this past season.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at [email protected] or on X @thejonahdylan.