ESPN reportedly willing to pay SEC more to add ninth game to college football schedule

Should SEC football teams play nine conference games during the regular season? ESPN is reportedly not only hoping that will happen but is also willing to make adding a conference game more lucrative for the SEC.

Seth Emerson and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that “ESPN has indicated a willingness to increase its payment to the SEC if the conference adds a ninth game to its league football schedule.”

“There is no formal offer yet, those sources added, and the exact amount of the increase is unclear,” the report detailed. “But the sources said the additional money would likely be in the range of $50-80 million annually on top of the current deal, in which ESPN pays the conference $811 million per year to broadcast its sporting events. Both ESPN and the SEC declined to comment.”

Of the “Power Four” conferences with automatic bids to the College Football Playoff, two — the SEC and ACC — play only eight conference games. The other two — the Big Ten and Big 12 — play nine games in the conference.

Beyond the financial gain, there is a potential competitive edge in adding an extra conference game. While the conference didn’t do particularly well in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff, the SEC is still widely regarded as the best or second-best conference in the country. An extra game in the conference, especially if it replaces a weaker non-conference opponent, could help the conference when it comes time to determine the CFP participants.

As Emerson and Marchand detailed, one of the potential challenges is timing. A ninth game would be discussed at the SEC’s spring meetings, generally held near Memorial Day. Changes to the College Football Playoff, which would potentially go a long way in influencing the vote, won’t be discussed until June.