MTSU football is set for its first road game of the season, facing the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Saturday afternoon. On the business side of college athletics, Middle Tennessee’s week two contest is called a “guarantee game.”
While the Badgers will certainly be a tough out for the Blue Raiders, the “guarantee” actually refers to the fact that the larger athletic program receives a guaranteed home game early in the season, rather than the game being a guaranteed victory. Although the bigger team usually wins.
This season, Wisconsin will pay $1.2 million to the Blue Raiders for their weekend trip to Madison, according to MTSU’s deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer Lee De Leon. Though the number seems steep, it’s actually less than what MTSU received in recent seasons.
In 2023 and 2024, the university earned $1.6 million each for early road tests against the University of Alabama and the University of Mississippi, respectively. The payment decrease from 2024 to 2025 is due to Alabama and Ole Miss of the SEC making greater revenue than Wisconsin of the BIG 10, De Leon said.
MTSU isn’t the only school getting paid less, however, as Group of Six programs across the board are earning less for yearly “guarantee games.”
“You’ll see those numbers go down a little bit in the next few years…it’s a better deal for them [Power 4 schools] right now,” De Leon said. “They’re not paying as much, they don’t need to pay as much and so schools our size are taking less money on some of these games.”
Middle Tennessee’s deputy AD compared the current market for “guarantee games” to that of real estate.
“It’s kind of like the housing market right now, the market is down, and people are not getting paid as much,” De Leon said.
The Blue Raiders’ Wisconsin check is just below the conference average, with Conference USA teams receiving $1.42 million per “guarantee game” in 2025, De Leon said. CUSA’s 2026 average is $1.23 million.
Even with a check in hand, Middle Tennessee hopes for a winning effort against Wisconsin this weekend, after a three-score loss to Austin Peay State University in the season opener. Kickoff between the Blue Raiders and Badgers is set for Saturday, Sept. 6 at 3 p.m. CDT at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The game will air live on FS1 with WGNS carrying the radio broadcast.
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