Florida State athletics profits over $10.3 million in 2022 fiscal year

Florida State athletics operated at a $10.364 million surplus during the 2022 fiscal year, according to the annual NCAA financial report obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat/USA TODAY Network.

Overall, it was the second straight year the FSU athletics department reported a budget surplus.

For the 2022 fiscal year, from July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022, the Seminoles listed $161.1 million in operating revenue. The operating expenses for the year was $150.7 million.

In 2021, FSU reported a $7.81 million surplus, mostly due to cost-cutting measures. This year, the Seminoles saw a return to normalcy for ticket sales to bring in more revenue, but also a return to normal for travel costs, as well as recruiting costs.

FSU reported a deficit of over $26 million for the 2020 fiscal year.

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For the Seminoles, the $161.1 in operating revenue was the highest since 2018, when they pulled in $168.1 million.

Ticket sales rose back to $$18,773,797 during the 2022 fiscal year after falling to $4,768,14 in 2021. For reference, ticket sales were $17,341,676 in 2020.

In particular, the increase in sales came from football. FSU hosted seven home games. Safety protocols limited fans to just 20% capacity of Doak Campbell Field in 2021, bringing football ticket sales down to $3.5 million. That increased by 332% to $15.13 million in 2022.

Florida State also added $30.3 million in additional revenue from media rights, an increase from $25.99 million in 2021. The Seminoles also received $10.7 million in conference distributions and $24.4 million in revenue from royalties.

Contributions were actually slightly down in 2022 ($41,739,365) compared to 2021 ($43,261,756), adding another source of revenue.

FSU also reported another revenue income, $13.6 million in direct institutional support from the university.

The direct institutional support was a large increase from the 2021 year, which came in at $144,357.

“In Fiscal Year 2022, the University, as did others, allocated a portion of Federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) to Athletics to cover some of our revenue losses and additional expenses incurred due to the pandemic," Athletics Spokesperson Rob Wilson said. "FSU’s financial report to the NCAA reflects that $13,597,540 in the direct institutional support category.”

In terms of expenses, coaches at FSU took a pay cut during the 2021 season to aid with COVID-related costs, including head football coach Mike Norvell. Coaching salaries reported for the 2021 fiscal year were $20.1 million.

Coaches' salaries in 2020 for comparison came in at $25.4 million.

In 2022, coaches' salaries climbed up to $25.6 million. An increase in support staff was also included in this figure, as the number grew from $21.9 million in 2021 to $22.8 million in 2022. In particular, the football support staff saw their salaries increase to over $3.2 million this past fiscal year.

Recruiting opened back up, allowing travel to visit prospects as well host hosting them in Tallahassee. The $1.6 million spent on recruiting in 2022 is closer to the $1.8 million spent in 2020, compared to just the $286,103 spent in 2021.

Gameday expenses rose from $1.9 million in 2021 back to $3.5 million in 2022. Team travel jumped nearly $4 million in 2021, rising from $5.3 million to over $9 million.

Overhead and administrative costs rose from $14.2 million to $22.2 million in 2022.

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State athletics profits over $10.3 million in 2022 fiscal year