| NEWS A few nuggets from Alabama deals to play Louisville, Duke and Miami

  • Thread starter Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
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Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com

What we learned reading over game contracts for future Alabama football games.

With the topic of future non-conference football scheduling in the news, this was a good time to look at the contracts Alabama signs to play these neutral-site, season-opening games.

Available through public records requests, AL.com obtained copies for the three games on the books in 2018 with Louisville, 2019 against Duke and 2021 against Miami. This year's game with Louisville in Orlando is organized by ESPN Events while the next two are in Atlanta through the Peach Bowl.

It's worth noting the payouts for these games have flattened out, even dipped a little. Alabama will get $4.5 million for the 2018 and 2019 games and $5 million for 2021 against Miami. The school got $6 million in 2016 to play USC in Arlington, Texas and $5 million to face Florida State in Atlanta.

A few things we learned from reading over these contracts:

-- Alabama will be the home team in crimson jerseys for Louisville and Duke games. But, for the first time since the 2009 with Virginia Tech in Atlanta, it will be the visiting team in white jerseys for the 2021 game with Miami in Atlanta.

-- In Orlando, Alabama will play its first outdoor neutral-site game since 2007 in Jacksonville. It will occupy the east end zone, which means it could be facing the setting sun if there's an evening start.

-- For this year's game, Alabama has an allotment of just 18,000 compared to nearly 30,000 for the two games in Atlanta.

-- Alabama will have to pay for hotel rooms for the 2018 game in Orlando while complimentary rooms are included in the deal for the 2019 and 2021 games in Atlanta. "ESPN will obtain favorable, competitive rates," for the room in Orlando, the contract states. Transportation costs are up to the school for all three games.

-- Though ESPN Events is the organizer of the 2018 game in Orlando, the contract acknowledges the game could appear on CBS under the SEC's media rights deal.

-- The contract with ESPN for the Orlando game is just four pages long dated Aug. 4, 2015 and addressed to then-athletics director Bill Battle.

-- Lower level tickets in Atlanta that cost $200 for the Duke game will cost $250 for the Miami game. Club and suite face-value tickets will cost $300 for both games. And the least-expensive ticket will be $125 for both games.

-- For the Atlanta games, the exact price for the allotment of tickets is spelled out in the contract. For 2019, it has to purchase $5,377,925 worth of tickets to sell for its $4.5 million payout. In 2021, the total ticket cost is $5,696,750 for the $5 million guarantee.

-- The Atlanta game contacts call for 75-100 downtown poll banners to promote the game along with "limited welcome signage in team hotels."

-- Alcohol is specifically addressed in the Atlanta game contracts. Beer will be sold at both, but sales will be cut off at the end of halftime.

-- If ESPN College GameDay originates from Atlanta before either game and ESPN requests cheerleaders, mascots or bands "each school will have the discretion to determine if it will accommodate this request," though it's up to Alabama to pay for their lodging.

-- Alabama must send "no fewer than 1 email blast per month in June, July and August" to ticket buyers with information for the Atlanta games. The school must also post about the games at least once in those months using the official football Facebook page and Twitter account.

-- In Atlanta, the contract states Alabama "will consider" participating in official team walks when arriving at the stadium. It hasn't done these kinds of things in season-opening neutral site games in the past as the team buses pull up directly to the stadium door minus the fanfare.

-- Alabama agrees to allow Chick-fil-A do promotional activities at the spring games prior to the seasons it has games. That includes video board ads and providing complimentary food to "media, staff, and teams." (Consumption of the free food is a decision left up to the media members themselves and does not impact coverage just so we're clear)

The list of payouts for neutral-site games from 2014-through the games scheduled moving forward.

-- 2021: Miami $5 million

-- 2020: No game scheduled yet

-- 2019: Duke $4.5 million

-- 2018: Louisville $4.5 million

-- 2017: Florida State $5 million

-- 2016: USC $6 million

-- 2015: Wisconsin 4 million

-- 2014: West Virginia $3.2 million


Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
A few nuggets from Alabama deals to play Louisville, Duke and Miami
 
@BamaFan334

Where did you get that!? The article listed no prices for Orlando, and states, " Lower level tickets in Atlanta that cost $200 for the Duke game".

Yep, that's my bad, read the order wrong about the Duke and Miami prices. Assumed Louisville would be in line with the two considering neutral site and it being put on by third party and not the universities.
 
@BamaFan334

Where did you get that!? The article listed no prices for Orlando, and states, " Lower level tickets in Atlanta that cost $200 for the Duke game".

Yep, that's my bad, read the order wrong about the Duke and Miami prices. Assumed Louisville would be in line with the two considering neutral site and it being put on by third party and not the universities.
They may. Camping World stadium seats 15K less than MB in ATL.

I
 
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