If there was any concern in the Michigan athletic department about losing a home football game in 2012 when the Wolverines play Alabama at Cowboys Stadium, news of the payout the school will receive should ease any fears about potential lost revenues.
According to the Detroit News, Michigan will be paid $4.7 million for participating in the “Cowboys Stadium Classic” on September 1, 2012. That is approximately the same amount that the school would draw from a game at Michigan Stadium.
The News discovered this in the contract agreement, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Strangely, details of Alabama’s payout were not seen in the contract.
Other information the News found in the contract: 25,000 tickets will be alloted to Michigan for the game. And roughly 50 suites at Cowboy Stadium will be for sale to Michigan and Alabama.
Two open dates remain on the Wolverines’ 2012 football schedule. Those will both presumably be home games, as Michigan currently only has four games scheduled at home for 2012.