When Texas and Oklahoma made the decision earlier this year to leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024, they each faced a potential penalty of $160 million. But as it turns out, the financial suffered by the two schools won’t be nearly that severe, thanks in part to some help from ESPN.
On Friday, USA Today published a report detailing how Texas and Oklahoma had worked out settlements to lessen the financial blow incurred by their exits. As a part of the agreement, the schools will receive unspecified “transition” payments from ESPN, which is entering a $3 billion 10-year deal as the SEC’s broadcasting partner in 2024.
“After Texas and Oklahoma made the decision to change conferences, those schools, along with the Big 12 and SEC, chose to accelerate the process and transition a year earlier,” ESPN said in statement to USA Today. “At that time, the media partners were brought in to reach a resolution that would satisfy all parties for the 2024-25 season.”
While it’s unclear exactly how much Texas and Oklahoma will be impacted financially by leaving the Big 12, USA Today’s reporting shows that it will be significantly less than the originally expected $160 million. Open records requests showed that Texas and Oklahoma have had no money withheld by the conference and they won’t in 2023-24, as had originally been anticipated. Additionally, while the two schools won’t be getting any money from the SEC’s primary revenue sharing pool in 2024-25 as a part of their entry agreement, “they stand to collect millions through football- and men’s-basketball-specific distributions that already existed under the SEC’s bylaws” and “could receive additional money through other specially negotiated terms,” in addition to the transition payments from ESPN.
“This was a business decision,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told USA Today. “Historically the withdrawal from a conference has resulted in a negotiated settlement, and we believe we landed in a good place. Our future is as bright as it’s ever been.”
While the report notes that the settlements have left some Big 12 athletic directors “kind of dumbfounded,” it will be interesting to see whether ESPN or other networks will be involved in helping facilitate such movement in the future. In particular, schools in the ACC — which is currently in the midst of a media rights deal with ESPN that runs until 2036 — face a reported $120 million exit fee. Although as Texas and Oklahoma’s exits from the Big 12 show, that number might not be as daunting as it currently seems.
