A few college athletic departments show rare surplus; New Balance bets on Shohei Ohtani and a new state enters legalized sports betting
Well, it was great to attend NACDA's mid-winter meetings in Marco Island, Florida over the weekend. There were multiple sessions and breakouts for the members. On Saturday night, Chief Executive Officer Emeritus, Bob Vecchione was honored in front of a full room featuring past NACDA presidents and current leaders, friends and sponsors for his decades long leadership of the organization. It was a very special tribute to a very effective leader of NACDA.
And this is your Morning Buzzcast for Tuesday, January 31st. Good morning, I'm Abe Madkour, thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. First, I find Shohei Ohtani to be one of the most intriguing athletes in all of sports, and I'm closely watching to see what the future holds for him, whether it's with the Angels or with another organization. One company that is betting on Ohtani is New Balance. As New Balance signed him to a long-term endorsement deal. They will feature Ohtani on a variety of campaigns across the brand. The first being the launch of a limited edition 574 cleat that will launch in February.
So Ohtani's going to be front and center for New Balance. He joins that company's roster of athletes that includes Kauai Leonard. There's the sprinter, Sidney McLaughlin, there's Coco Gauff, there's Chelsea's Raheem Sterling. And I still believe there could be a broader roster of corporate partners for Shohei Ohtani in the future.
Let's move on to college sports. We all know the challenging revenue models in collegiate athletics and how few college athletic departments actually make money and show a surplus at the end of the year. Well, now we see a couple of schools that actually did see a surplus in the latest reporting period for universities. First, yes, it's all about the Ohio State University. Ohio State's athletic department reported revenue surpassing just about a quarter of a billion dollars in the '22 fiscal year.
Yes, you heard that right. Ohio State brought in $251 million from July 1st, '21 to June 30th, '22. That is a record. It has brought in more than $200 million only three previous times. The previous all-time high was in 2020 when the department had total revenue of $234 million. This year, that figure goes to $251 million. And so guess the bottom line In a day where so few schools report a profit, Ohio State had nearly a $26 million surplus for the athletic department in the fiscal year. That is an incredibly powerful strong number.
Second, the University of Michigan's athletic department reported a $17 million surplus. The department took in more than $210 million in revenue. That marked the first time Michigan has topped $200 million in revenue in one year, and of course the $17 million surplus is Michigan's largest. They actually topped it in 2012, but this $17 million surplus is the largest in 10 years.
It's quite a turnaround for athletic director Warde Manual as last year, the department lost close to $50 million. So how did they turn it around? Well, obviously a nice increase in ticket sales across sports as the department sold nearly $56 million in ticket sales, $47 million coming from ticket sales in football alone. So a nice year for the University of Michigan.
And finally, on a smaller scale, the University of North Carolina's athletic department saw a $2.3 million surplus for the fiscal year. Their overall revenue was at $123 million. Revenue jumped $21 million year over year. Ticket sales, again drove the major increase and you know who were the drivers? Yes. North Carolina's football and men's basketball programs generated nearly 73% of the total revenue of the athletic department, and they alone operated at a $42 million surplus. And so you see how football and men's basketball were the drivers for the University of North Carolina because overall the program netted a $2.3 million surplus for the fiscal year.
So it's an interesting window into three very good size schools. You see the results from the Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of North Carolina.
Let's move on to the NFL. The money keeps growing for the NFL and teams and players are benefiting. If you're a general manager, you are going to have more money to spend on payroll next year. ESPM reported that the NFL has told its teams that next year's salary cap, the 2023 salary cap will be a record $225 million. That's going to be up nearly $17 million from the past year's salary cap. So who is likely to benefit? Well, if you wonder why Kevin Warren went to the Chicago Bears, you'll see why. The Bears are projected to have the most salary cap space with more than $91 million available to play with on payroll and on player salaries.
The New Orleans Saints have the least. They are projected to be over the cap by more than $58 million. So the Bears, they'll have a lot of opportunities to really add to that roster. The Saints have some cutting, obviously to do. But bottom line is NFL salary cap continuing to increase, likely to come in at $225 million for player payroll in 2023.
We've talked about the sports company overtime on the Buzzcast and mostly around its overtime elite Basketball League. And the company plans to expand its OT7 football program. They're going to add four cities in its second season. Remember last year, the first season all took place in Las Vegas. This year they'll play in Baltimore, Orlando, Austin, and Phoenix. Now remember, OT7 brings together teams of high school players. They're good high school players. They're four and five-star college recruits. They compete in a seven on seven low contact playing format.
Again, the first season featured a World Cup style format in Vegas. This year it's a little bit more formalized. Season schedule starts in March in Phoenix and the championship runs in June at an undetermined location. They are reportedly looking at Los Angeles. This will be the second season. They brought on two new sponsors, Snickers and the FDA's, The Real Cost, which is an anti-smoking campaign. So those two are the sponsors of OT7. Now remember Overtime got a £100 million in Series D funding in August. That's certainly helping to fund the OT7 program, but Overtime making big bets in youth basketball and youth football.
Let's end the Buzzcast on a couple of quick notes. First, in person sports betting begins today, Tuesday, in Massachusetts at the State's three casinos. This is in-person betting only. Online sports betting is expected to begin in the state in March. Sports betting is projected to bring in about $50 million in annual revenue to Massachusetts. Once everything is up and running, Massachusetts becomes the 36th state in the United States to legalize sports betting.
You can go home again. Former LIV Golf COO Atul Khosla has rejoined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Chief Commercial Officer. This is a new role. He left LIV Golf late last year. His new duties are broad. He'll oversee corporate partnerships, ticketing, game day experience revenue. He'll oversee marketing and media and the fan experience at Raymond James Stadium. This is a big job. This marks a return for him. Remember, Khosla had worked for the Buccaneers from 2017 to 2022 before joining LIV Golf.
And finally, sports Business Journal is very pleased to announce that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, will be the recipient of our lifetime achievement award for 2023. Bettman will be honored in person at the Sports Business Awards on May 24th in New York City.
So why Gary Bettman? Well, Bettman left his job at the NBA in 1993 to become the first commissioner of the NHL. And in that time, he has led the league to tremendous growth all over the world. The sport of hockey and the brand of the NHL are stronger than ever. And under Bettman's leadership, the league's revenue increased exponentially from around $40 million a year to more than $5 billion a year today. He is the longest tenured commissioner of a major North American Sports League. He has influenced the careers of countless members of the sports business community during his career.
The 70-year-old Bettman has had an incredible journey in growing the game around the world. He has been a leader with substance and clearly Gary Bettman has helped define the sports business of the modern era. And again, he will be the recipient of SBJ's Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023 and receive it on May 24th at the Sports Business Awards. Promises to be a great night. Hope you will join us.
And that is your morning Buzzcast for Tuesday, January 31st. The last day of January. Boy, how time is flying? I'm Ade Madkour. Thanks for listening to the Buzzcast. Stay healthy. Be good to each other. I'll speak to you tomorrow.