Report: Washington expects $5.8 million loss in 2023 amid Grant of Rights concerns

As the Pac-12 media and grant of rights negotiations dominate the conversations, schools are looking at some dark financials in the next couple years. That includes Washington, and a report from the Seattle Times detailed what the Huskies could be looking at in 2023 and 2024.

According to the Times’ Mike Vorel, Washington expects a $5.8 million loss in fiscal year 2023, which runs July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Then, in fiscal year 2024, the university projects a nearly $7.8 million deficit as it awaits the next steps in the media rights negotiations.

There are a few reasons for those numbers, as Vorel detailed. One of the biggest numbers on the books is severance payments after the school fired former head football coach Jimmy Lake. Those payments amount to nearly $5 million in fiscal year 2023 and will be a projected $3.8 million in 2024. In addition, Kalen DeBoer — who’s gearing up for his second season at the helm after replacing Lake — received a $1 million raise after leading Washington to an 11-2 record in 2022.

With DeBoer’s raise came an increased salary pool for his assistants, which increased from $5.745 million to $7.483 million.

The Pac-12 media rights talks are just one piece of the ever-changing conversation around college sports. Realignment chatter is heating up, as well, and On3’s Eric Prisbell reported it could be an “unsettling” summer on that front. The Pac-12 is already losing USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, and rumors and reports suggest the vultures are swirling to potentially lure away Pac-12 programs.

It’s been suggested for some time now that a deal would be coming soon. Washington State president Kirk Schulz reiterated that claim Friday, stating he believes an agreement could come by the end of June.

“We expect to have a resolution by the end of the month. … I’m not sure if it’ll be a lot larger than we saw in the past,” Schulz told Washington State’s Board of Regents, via The Oregonian’s James Crepea. “It shouldn’t be a lot smaller than the past. It may be fairly flat.”

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