The Destruction of the Big 12.

[Stewy]

(07-29-2021, 07:02 PM)J24 Wrote: I get why the SEC and ESPN would do it. Seems like a big time get for them but Texas and Oklahoma are huge brands seems like they would make huge money anywhere.

Ah.  Ok.  Then let me explain.

Most conferences split revenue evenly from TV deals.  Vandy and Bama make the same money in the SEC.

The Big 12 however, distributed money based upon a formula related to ratings and viewership.  Thus Oklahoma and Texas took 80% of the pie between them PLUS Texas had their own network which paid them 60 mil annually (which was a horrible deal for ESPN) alone.  Thus going to any conference aside from the SEC, which already distributes 60 mil per team annually, would be a huge pay cut for OU and UT.  Whereas, adding UO and UT will make the payout from the SEC twice as much as the next conference AND be an annual increase for UO and UT, plus joining the best conference in football and all that goes along with it.  It is nothing but WIN WIN for both sides. 

And of course ESPN is all in on this because they can drop or not renew the awful Big 12 and Longhorn network contracts, and pay less overall than all three together when the SEC re-negotiates their contract in a couple years.

The only ones who lose out are the remaining Big 12 teams who really are in no mans land, where no one wants them and no ones wnats to join them.  WVU (huge hick following that travels well, and excellent in Bball as well) to the ACC makes a lot of sense, otherwise the rest of the remaining Big 12 are out in the cold.

One might think that Iowa State to the Big 10 makes sense, except why would the Big 10 want them?  Very limited viewership, and just another mouth to feed to distribute the wealth.  My point is that it's not just about what seems like a good fit from a sports point of view, but what matters is if a team joining a conference is going to add to the overall distribution of $$$ or just be another mouth to feed like Minnesota.

FYI - the SEC voted unanimously today to invite UO and UT for the 2025 season (end of their TV deals).  It is highly likely there will be some form of buyouts to ESPN and the remaining Big 12 to get out of the Big 12 Network and Longhorn Network contracts.  Goodness knows ESPN wants out of those horrible deals.  The remaining members of the Big 12 will be more difficult to please.