Big Ten set to land biggest TV rights deal in college football
The Big Ten is reportedly nearing a new television deal with FOX that could change the revenue landscape of college football, according to a report from John Ourand of Sports Business Daily.
The reported agreement would be for roughly half of the television rights to Big Ten athletics for six seasons at a reported $250 million per year.
The details of what games that would include are still unclear.
The reported numbers in this deal divide up to $17.86 million per school, not counting the revenue the other half of games could produce.
USA Today’s Dan Wolken estimates that the total number per team could reach $40 million per year before the negotiating is finished:
We’ll see where the final numbers come out, but it seems almost certain that Big Ten schools will soon be banking more than $30 million per year — a number that doesn’t even include what the conference makes off the Big Ten Network and digital rights. When it’s all said and done, it could be a $40 million distribution.
Wolken also notes that the short-term nature of the deal could pay off for the Big Ten if it’s able to negotiate another big deal on the back side of the agreement.
For reference, the SEC just had a record-setting year of revenue thanks to its deal with ESPN and paid out roughly $32.7 million per school after generating $311.8 in multimedia revenue.
The SEC is in the midst of a 20-year agreement with ESPN that will end in 2034.