Report: John Swofford received $2.6 million from ACC in 2022

Former ACC commissioner John Swofford received $2.6 million from the ACC in 2022 after retiring from his post in 2021, according to tax documents obtained by USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz.

Swofford finished his 24th year with the conference after the 2021 athletic calendar. Almost all of the $2.6 million was reported as base pay and Berkowitz reports that has not been on the payroll since Dec. 31, 2022.

The report also recorded Jim Phillips’ first full calendar year as conference commissioner, earning $2.8 million — $2.625 of which was recorded at his base salary. During that year, the ACC recorded the highest rise in total revenue of all five power conferences. From 2021 to 2022, it increased from $90 million to $707 million. However, that total was third among Power Five conferences with the SEC and Big Ten leading that race.

Roughly $38 million of the ACC’s revenue increase came from its television deal. The conference credited Comcast for picking up the ACC Network in 2021. 2023 was the first fiscal year where the conference could be displayed to a wider audience. Another $40 million of that was helped by the ACC’s participation in the Orange Bowl since it was left out of the College Football Playoff semifinal after the 2022 season. That way, the conference would profit off the game.

While the future of the ACC remains in jeopardy given recent reports that some schools may be looking to leave the league in the coming years, Phillips recently expressed confidence that their broadcast deal with ESPN will stay in place long-term.

The current ACC media deal runs through 2036 and pays the conference $240 million annually. It also locks schools in with a Grant of Rights agreement. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford stressed the concern that they are facing a $30 million revenue gap when compared to SEC and Big Ten peers.

In Berkowitz’s report, the ACC’s $707 million is nothing to scoff at, but it pales in comparison to the $880 million that was reported by the Big Ten and $853 million reported by the SEC. That’s over $100 million that the ACC is missing out on compared to their power conference counterparts.

With the uncertainly of what lies ahead in mind, Phillips will spearhead the effort of keeping his conference together in what has proved to be a non-stop, ever-changing landscape within collegiate athletics over the past several years.