Amid reports of the Big Ten revenue share for the 2024-25 season, national analyst RJ Young has issued a stark warning to the traditional powers of college football: Curt Cignetti’s Indiana is no longer a basketball school content with moral victories.
Why RJ Young Believes Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Will Hit the $100 Million Revenue Mark
On the latest episode of his “Adapt & Respond” podcast, Young highlighted the Big Ten’s $1.37 billion revenue share for the 2025 financial year. While Ohio State received $91.57 million and Penn State $88.92 million, Young believes Indiana will be the first team to hit the $100 million mark.
He said, “I expect that Indiana will bring in closer to $95–$99 million, and might be the first to hit the $100 million mark given what they were able to do in the conference just last year. And not for nothing.”
Young also mentioned how Indiana’s 800,000-strong alumni base could contribute to it. He continued, “We highlighted this during the College Football Playoff, but this will be a note that I hit pretty often, Indiana just activated the largest living alumni base in the entire country at more than 800,000 people.”
He also explained how this strong alumni base is passionate about the program. “They’ve got a reason to care about Hoosiers football in a way that they never had a reason to care about Hoosiers football. It’s been basketball or bust for them for so much for so long. Now Indiana is the dominant football program in the state of Indiana, and that includes Notre Dame,” Young added.
“If you can activate half a million folks out of that 800,000, you’ve just probably doubled your stadium if nothing else. You’re going to get stadium renovations. You’re going to have more games on national television.”
However, Cignetti is not free of worries despite winning the national championship. The Big Ten is competitive, and Ryan Day’s Ohio State is closely breathing down his neck. In addition, Michigan has gone through an identity shift under Kyle Whittingham.
USC has gone to Gary Patterson to fix its defense, and Penn State might be competitive again under Matt Campbell.
Meanwhile, Cignetti has to employ a new QB1 for the third consecutive year, and Josh Hoover faces the daunting task of replacing Fernando Mendoza, who ended the season as the second-best QB in the nation, per PFSN CFB QB Impact. Not to mention the high squad turnover, including the losses of Elijah Sarratt and Roman Hemby.
If Indiana defies expectations again this season, the $100 million revenue share is only a matter of time.
