Why Now?

[besserheimerphat]

I think Tech and Baylor and UT all have law schools. So definitely going to be lawyers for this one.

Omg, I'm envisioning so much Foghorn Leghorn.

 

[NorthCyd]

The more I think about this, the more I think this all comes down to the failure of the Longhorn network. It's the only reason UT stayed in the first place, and it was a failure. I'm sure UT blames the fact that they don't have marquee matches every week, and only has one worthy conference opponent in their eyes. So last year they decided to bail, approached OU to go to SEC as a package deal, and here we are. The timing makes sense. You don't wait until contracts expire, you get out ahead of them by a few years.

 

[Cloneon]

This is why I think we will see the emergence of other super conferences. There's still a compelling market for watching college football outside the SEC footprint and what other bluebloods would want to try to squeeze into the SEC's crowded house right now? If I'm the B1G bluebloods or ACC/Clemson, I'd want to pull in viable programs to build up enough compelling inventory to compete with the $EC, and start shopping it around to TV networks and streaming platforms.

If the SEC is out there by themselves, their viability declines over time, but their contract debt remains the same. If other conferences don't join, the SEC will eventually hurt ... a lot. I realize it's a big IF, but shrewd players can make this happen if they so choose.

 

[Rural]

The more I think about this, the more I think this all comes down to the failure of the Longhorn network. It's the only reason UT stayed in the first place, and it was a failure. I'm sure UT blames the fact that they don't have marquee matches every week, and only has one worthy conference opponent in their eyes. So last year they decided to bail, approached OU to go to SEC as a package deal, and here we are. The timing makes sense. You don't wait until contracts expire, you get out ahead of them by a few years.

If they did they wouldn't have a winning record.

 

[RealisticCy]

Texas already has the largest athletic budget in the country. How would they be left in the dust? The extra $5mill or so from the SEC tv package is nothing to them.

Can't even remember where I read this in the past 3 days, but someone estimated the payouts to every SEC school after the addition of OU and Texas at $80 million per year. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Big 12 payout was around $37-38 million each year.

If the long term plan is to lure Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, USC, etc. into a single NFL-lite system completely untethered by any NCAA oversight/regulations, take that $80 million and add....and keep adding.....and keep adding.

 

[Die4Cy]

Can't even remember where I read this in the past 3 days, but someone estimated the payouts to every SEC school after the addition of OU and Texas at $80 million per year. In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Big 12 payout was around $37-38 million each year.

If the long term plan is to lure Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, USC, etc. into a single NFL-lite system completely untethered by any NCAA oversight/regulations, take that $80 million and add....and keep adding.....and keep adding.

The big money boost doesn't happen until you lock up all the brands that matter under one banner. TV has leverage over conferences with an $80 million team or two. A conference of all $80 million teams has leverage over TV.

It might take many years for this to happen.