REPORT: SEC, Big Ten, Could Dump Football Programs that Don't Contribute to TV Revenue
By now, we all know college football is a business. Big business.
And being big business, revenue comes from different sources. But one of the biggest assets to not just programs, but conferences, is the television contracts with the networks.
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For example, ESPN just paid for the rights to broadcast SEC games beginning in 2024. That price tag was $300 million per year - up from the $55 million that CBS was paying previously.
That figure is split evenly between the teams in the conference. Now, reports are the bigger-earning teams want to push the lesser-earning teams out.
Greg Swain offered a proposed solution on his show on Wednesday.
"Since #Vandy is sadly already grandfathered into the #SEC, and obviously only in it for the money at this point, perhaps the SEC can pay them to go (and stay) independent? There are behind the scenes talk with @ESPN, @FoxSports, the #B1G and #SEC reps about how to dump those schools who bring nothing to the TV table."
The retort would be that winning seasons are cyclical, and eventually, the big-earning teams will turn into the lesser-earning teams and vice-versa.
But don't tell that to the Vanderbilts and Northwesterns of the college football world.
In a college football landscape that's now dominated by expanded playoffs, NIL, conference realignment and programs leaving historic rivalries behind just to make more money, this doesn't seem so far-fetched.
Just when we think college football is getting out of hand, we get something like this.
