The Big 12 has secured its financial stability through at least the 2030-31 season as they managed to come to terms and is in the process of finalizing a six year, $2.3 billion extension of its media rights agreement with partners ESPN and Fox Sports. The Big 12 will remain under the terms of its current deal paying the conference $220 million per season through 2024-2025, with the annual payout increasing to an average of $380 million starting in 2023-26.
Acquiring a stronger media rights deal was Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s number one task when he took over the job from Bob Bowlsby on August first. Through convincing ESPN and Fox to agree to an exclusive negotiating window early, Yormark was able to score a deal before the Pac-12, a Power Five conference peer.
The Big 12 unfortunately has lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC starting in 2025, however they have backfilled with future members BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. Big 12 teams will eventually bring in $47 million per season in rights fees, including what they get from the College Football Playoff and NCAA tournament. That number could exceed $50 million when the CFP expands to 12 teams as they are expected to do. Although Big 12 teams will earn around $5 million more annually they would have received much more if the Longhorns and Sooners had planned to remain in the Big 12.However, it is still significant for a league who was very concerned about their media rights value with UT and OU leaving for the SEC.
According to the SportsBusiness Journal, ESPN will receive the first four college football game selections each season along with six of the top eight, eight of the top 12 and 12 of the top 20. ESPN is also set to be the home of the Big 12 championships in football and basketball, with Fox airing Big 12 college basketball games for the first time. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 will see USC and UCLA leave for the Big Ten in 2024 and has not yet expanded their membership, with their media rights value plummeting below that of the Big 12. The Pac-12’s negotiating window with ESPN and Fox has lapsed since then and the conference is appearing open to giving out at least some of their media rights to a major streaming service if they are interested.
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