Report: Texas & Oklahoma To Leave Big 12 For SEC Early?
Texas and Oklahoma are slated to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC in the coming years. Their departure might be arriving sooner than people expected.
According to CBS Sports, there are now “active discussions” for the Longhorns and Sooners to leave the Big 12 as the conference engages with TV networks for a new media rights deal. The two programs are slated to join the SEC on July 1, 2025.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Big 12 would soon enter into negotiations with its current media partners, ESPN and Fox. The Big 12 contract is set to expire in 2025, thus playing a factor as to why Texas and Oklahoma are set to remain in the conference.
According to CBS Sports, ESPN and Fox are expected to meet face-to-face with the Big 12 in the next several weeks. The conference is also set to expand come July 1, 2023, with the additions of BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston.
The biggest factor keeping Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12 are the financial penalties each school would be forced to pay should they leave early. As of this month, both programs would pay $80 million in exit fees to leave in 2025. Any earlier departure would also increase that number depending on the remaining years left on the contract.
Should Texas and Oklahoma elect to leave the Big 12 early, this could hurt the conference's chances of adding in a lucrative contract with either Fox or ESPN. The two schools are the highest-selling programs in terms of ratings for the conference, and their departure would hamper all negotiations regarding record-setting numbers.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been open with his thoughts on Texas and Oklahoma leaving the conference early, calling it a "win-win" scenario for all parties. In Yormark’s scenario, the Big 12 would likely ask for the current fee of $80 million it's owed for the exit of the two schools entering the next offseason.
According to multiple reports, Oklahoma and Texas have no interest in paying to leave early. As of today, both programs intend to finish out their current contracts unless the departure fee were to drop substantially.
LonghornsCountry.com will continue to keep you up to date on Texas’ status with the Big 12 throughout the regular season.
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