Big 12 Unequal Revenue Sharing?

I want to expand on the Florida State/Clemson and ACC situation I wrote about last week because there is a fascinating Big 12 angle to this. 

The ACC got great news that ESPN picked up the option on its TV deal, which will keep ACC games on the network through 2036. It’s a huge step toward keeping the league together until at least 2031 when the Big Ten and Big 12 TV contracts expire. 

Multiple reports say the ACC is now working on a settlement with Florida State and Clemson to end their four lawsuits with the league. 

Here’s where it really gets interesting. 

A part of the settlement is unequal revenue sharing. The ACC will have success and brand initiatives that allow schools like FSU, Clemson, North Carolina, and Miami to take an extra chunk of the TV revenue. Schools will be financially rewarded for on-field and TV viewership success, pulling money away from lower-tier ACC schools. 

We don’t have specific numbers yet for how high the ceiling is on the brand initiatives, but this could possibly get the Seminoles or Tigers to around $60-65 million in TV revenue, which would bring them a lot closer to the $75-$80 million their SEC and Big Ten counterparts will be making every year. 

There’s just one problem. 

What if the big brands in the Big Ten and SEC steal this idea? Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petiti has already taken the Big 12’s private equity idea and is exploring a private equity partner for the league. 

Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, Alabama, etc., are already wondering why Purdue and Vandy get the same payout they do every year. Now, they will see the precedent of tipping the scales toward the best brands set in the ACC. 

Josh Pate was the first I saw to point this out and makes some excellent points here. 

This becomes a problem for the restless ACC power brands. They may lose their progress on the Power Two big boys because of their own idea. It’s the same fear many had when the story leaked that the Big 12 was looking at private equity. 

If you make a shrewd financial move, the big guys will just steal it from you and keep their financial distance. 

But what will the Big 12 do if this precedent gets set?

The Big 12 is a unique case here because no brands tower over the others. In many ways, that’s the beauty of the league now. 

Texas and Oklahoma are no longer lording over the rest of the conference. Once upon a time, the Big 12 had to green-light the Longhorn Network, which essentially created unequal revenue sharing, to save itself. 

Would the hateful eight who had to deal with the Longhorns ever support an unequal revenue-sharing plan? There are many hard feelings there, and nobody wants to go through that again. 

Even if they did, are there any realistic candidates to be the dominant program and/or brand?

There’s been a different Big 12 football champion for five straight years, and I see no real sign that’s about to change. 

Utah seemed to fancy itself as that upon entering the league last year, but the Utes were humbled by a 5-7 season in year one. They finished fourth in TV viewership. 

Kansas fans have always considered the Jayhawks a legitimate candidate for the SEC or Big Ten, but this academic year's football and basketball seasons have been humbling for the Jayhawks. 

Colorado would have scooped up most of the extra brand money this year if the Big 12 had brand initiatives. They had over twice the TV viewership of anyone else in the conference. But that’s all tied to Coach Prime. Will he be around for the long haul?

It could leave the Big 12 as the only Power Four league that doesn’t move to unequal revenue sharing.

It will be fascinating to watch unfold.

What You Need to Know

• I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a worse officiating mistake than what happened in Texas Tech’s win at Houston on Saturday. Red Raiders’ star JT Toppin was ejected before the first media timeout for…this. Tech head coach Grant McCasland then got tossed himself for arguing the call. Who could possibly blame him? Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt didn’t mince words in his statement after the game. 

• Despite all of that, Tech snapped Houston’s 33-game home winning streak and handed the Cougars their first Big 12 loss of the season. It was an incredible win that put the Red Raiders firmly in the Big 12 title race at 8-2. Houston and Arizona are tied atop the standings at 9-1. 

• Things got wild in Tempe between Arizona and Arizona State. Late in the Wildcats’ 81-72 win, Arizona’s Caleb Love and ASU’s B.J. Freeman were ejected. Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley pulled his team off the floor immediately after the game instead of having them shake hands with the Wildcats. He also had some colorful post-game comments about his arch-rival. 

• The 2025 Big 12 football schedule will be released tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. central on ESPN2, TruTV, FS2, and ESPN+. This is a nice extra dose of publicity for the league, which utilizes all its television partners. 

• The Big Ten stole the Big 12’s private equity idea. Sportico reports that the Big Ten is taking preliminary bids from private equity firms. CBS reported in June that the Big 12 was considering a private equity investment of up to $1 billion.

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