Rich Eisen Predicts Shift in College Football Landscape After New Bank Sponsorships

Two banks bought their way onto college football jerseys on Tuesday, and the money exchanging hands set off alarm bells across the sport.

Ohio State announced a partnership with JPMorgan Chase that will bring the athletic department nearly $17 million per year and put a Chase logo on all 36 varsity teams. A few hours later, Notre Dame announced a six-year agreement with SoFi worth $18 million to $20 million a year. Both deals cover every sport on campus. On the flip side, the Big 12 is catching flak for having previously agreed to a $20 million deal for every team in the league across football and men's and women's basketball or $1.25 million per school. Oof.

Most schools will never see an offer like that. Longtime sports commentator Rich Eisen watched both land in the same afternoon and said the sport is already sorting itself into two groups.

Why Rich Eisen thinks the bank deals point toward a super league

Eisen has been making this argument since USC and UCLA left the Pac-12. On Tuesday's show he made it again, with executive producer Chris Brockman working through the math alongside him.

"So what happens? Super League. We called it years ago," Eisen said. "And it's the only way to go. The question is, who's in and who's out? Who decides who's in and who's out? If you don't think the SEC and the Big Ten are having some conversations behind the scenes, I think you're out of your mind."

Big Ten media days opened in Chicago on Tuesday, and commissioner Tony Petitti said he had already spoken with SEC counterpart Greg Sankey five times before he reached the podium.

Reporters asked him whether the two leagues would build an NFL Lite if the Protect College Sports Act dies in Congress. A draft provision circulating that same morning would let schools spend an extra $25 million to keep their own players, on top of the revenue share cap that already sits above $20 million.

Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham told Eisen on Monday that the sport needs "an NFL minor league model" with a salary cap and players treated as employees. The 66-year-old former Utah coach expects roughly a dozen rosters to cost $50 million in the next recruiting cycle.

How a super league with promotion & relegation would work in college football

The best-known blueprint comes from College Sports Tomorrow, a group that includes college presidents and sports executives. That model locks in 70 permanent schools across seven 10-team divisions, adds an eighth division filled by teams promoted from a second tier of 50-plus programs, and sends eight division winners plus eight wild cards into a 16-team playoff. The 70 charter members cannot be relegated.

Eisen wants the opposite. He floated a league north of 75 teams with divisions and movement in both directions, run the way England's Premier League works. Under that setup, a Big Ten or SEC school that finishes near the bottom three years in a row would open the next season in the lower tier, and a Group of Five program that keeps winning would take its spot.

Big 10 commissioner Tony Petitti, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey — Big 10 commissioner Tony Petitti (left) and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey have been busy in recent days across each conference's media days. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

"If I'm joining this, I would be looking at the Big Ten and the SEC saying, 'Are you ready to relegate some of your own teams?'" Eisen said.

That question does not have a friendly answer, and Tuesday made it harder. Patch money is priced off brand value, not last year's record. Ohio State's $17 million does not shrink if the Buckeyes go 5-7. The schools with the most to lose from relegation are the same schools with the most money to vote it down.

The Big Ten and SEC have spent two years failing to agree on a playoff bracket, which is a much smaller version of a similar negotiation.

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