Per Dennis Dodd, the Big 12 has verbally agreed to a 13 year deal with ESPN and Fox that will be worth $2.6 Billion ($200 million per year). This means we're currently sitting in the top four with the Big Ten, SEC, and Pac-12.
The deal is expected to be the one reported by CBSSports.com on March 13 worth a combined $2.6 billion with ESPN and Fox. The 13-year deal is projected to be worth $200 million annually to the conference (an average of $20 million per school) through 2025. For the moment, the Big 12 enters the stratosphere of the Pac-12, SEC and Big Ten, all of which are near or above the $200 million per year mark.
Expected to be announced along with the new deal is an extension of the league's grant of rights. League CEOs had previously agreed to a six-year grant of rights that would allow the conference to keep a school's television rights if it left for a new league. The expectation is that the new grant of rights will be 13 years to match the TV deal. That provision essentially binds the at-times contentious league together for the term of the agreement.
The question regarding realignment, now, is finding two schools that add at least $40 million, annually, to this contract.
The game is afoot. Welcome to another summer of realignment fun, boys and girls.