Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame football affected by NBC bidding for Big 10 media rights

By Daniel Morrison

KIEV, UKRAINE - 2021/12/27: In this photo illustration, NBC (National Broadcasting Company) logo is seen on a smartphone and in the background. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
KIEV, UKRAINE - 2021/12/27: In this photo illustration, NBC (National Broadcasting Company) logo is seen on a smartphone and in the background. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Notre Dame football
SOUTH BEND, IN – SEPTEMBER 18: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish flag is seen before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium on September 18, 2021, in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: NBC to bid for Big 10 media rights

The TV Deals

Right now, the SEC is making by far the most money from their media deals. This is true even before CBS’ sweetheart deal ends. As of now, for that game of the week, CBS pays the SEC $55 million annually. ESPN just won the rights to that game of the week, starting in 2024, for $300 million annually. Divide that by sixteen schools and it’s worth about $18.75 million per school. That alone is worth more than Notre Dame’s deal with NBC, which is worth about $15 million annually. That’s just one game, you still have to add about $40 million annually per school to that number for the rest of their games.

The Big 10 is no slouch when it comes to TV revenue, though. Each of their schools makes right around $31.4 million annually from media revenue. Their media deal is going to expire soon, which means that there is a bidding war for the rights to what is arguably the best football and basketball conference. It is certainly one of the two most-watched and is rumored to be looking at bids north of $1 billion annually for the conference’s media rights. That would be north of $70 million annually, per school (Non-profits, amiright?).

Besides serving as a great argument in favor of paying players, this is going to have ripple effects around college football, as teams try to keep up with the spending that much money annually. It should, hypothetically, widen the gap between the Big 10 the other *ahem* Alliance conferences (ACC and PAC-12), let alone the Big 12 and Group of Five. Make no mistake, Notre Dame won’t be safe from the changes this could bring.

Home/Notre Dame Football