The former Big East and ESPN have announced they’ve reached an agreement on a new television contract. According to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy it’ll be worth $126 million over seven years.
Football in the former Big East conference continues to be paid under the previous ESPN deal through the 2013-14 season. Basketball, however, will fall under the new contract for the 2013-14 season. Prior to the Catholic 7 reaching an agreement to split from the football schools this summer, the deal was reported to pay $4 million extra for 2013-14. However, without those schools playing basketball in the conference next season, sources have told McMurphy the final deal was reduced.
From 2014-15 through the 2019-2020 school year, the former Big East is expected to receive $20 million annually for both football and basketball. Sources are also reporting the former Big East is nearing a new deal with CBS for select basketball games that will pay approximately $2 million per year.
With all of the shuffling and extensions, it can be hard to keep up. Here’s a listing, according to information from ESPN, The Associated Press, SportsBusiness Daily, SportsBusiness Journal and Adweek, of where things stand now. Also, per-year averages and per-school, per-year averages are straight averages and do not take into account actual variances by year as stipulated in individual contracts.
BIG 12
First- and second-tier rights: $2.6 billion, ESPN/FOX, 13 years through 2024-25
Per-year average: $200 million
Per-school, per-year average: $20 million
PAC-12
First- and second-tier rights: $3 billion, ESPN/FOX, 12 years through 2023-24
Per-year average: $250 million
Per-school, per-year average: $20.8 million
SEC
First-tier rights: $825 million, CBS, 15 years through 2023-24 (negotiations ongoing)
Second-tier rights: $2.25 billion, ESPN, 15 years through 2023-24 (negotiations ongoing)
Per-year average: $205 million (negotiations ongoing)
Per-school, per-year average: $14.6 million (negotiations ongoing)
BIG TEN
First-tier rights: $1 billion, ESPN, 10 years through 2016-17
Second-tier rights: $2.8 billion, Big Ten Network, 25 years through 2031-32
Select basketball rights: (minimum of 24 games, men’s tournament semifinal and championship games): $72 million, CBS, six years through 2016-17
Football championship game: $145 million, FOX, six years through 2016
Per-year average: $248.2 million
Per-school, per-pear average: $20.7 million
ACC
First-, second- and third-tier rights: $3.6 billion, ESPN, 15 years through 2026-27
Per-year average: $240 million
Per-school, per-year average: $17.1 million
FORMER BIG EAST
First-tier rights: $126 million, ESPN, seven years for basketball (2013-2020); six years for football (2014-2020)
Second-tier rights: Basketball, $54 million, CBS, six years through 2012-13 (negotiations ongoing)
Some important notes:
• No per-year average or per-school, per-year average has been calculated for the Big East, because it does not make public its revenue-sharing method between football-only members and full members.
• SEC commissioner Mike Slive has confirmed the conference has been in negotiations with ESPN and CBS since adding Texas A&M and Missouri as members, but no extensions or new terms have been announced by the conference or networks at this time.
• A number of these contracts have escalator clauses, including the Pac-12 contract. In the early years of that contract, it will be $180 million per year (or $15 million per school) and in the later years it escalates, according to statements made by Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott via conference call following the contract’s announcement.
• Deals for third-tier rights vary by conference. Some third-tier rights are bundled by conferences and sold to regional networks while others are retained by schools and sold individually to local or regional networks. For example, Pac-12 schools have pledged their third-tier rights to the upcoming Pac-12 Network, while the University of Texas has granted third-tier rights to The Longhorn Network, a partnership between ESPN, IMG and the university.