Big Ten Could Announce Record Media Rights Deal in May

The Big Ten’s media rights negotiation is reportedly nearing a conclusion.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren told CBS Sports on Tuesday that a new contract should be set “around Memorial Day, or soon thereafter.”

In total, the package could be worth up to $1.1 billion annually, Front Office Sports previously reported. It could set an entirely new precedent in the college sports industry about the value of top-flight media rights.

• In February, FOS reported that NBC was expected to “make a major push” to get a piece of the valuable Big Ten pie. 
• Fox Sports allegedly has an agreement with the league to keep its portion of media rights, Sports Business Journal reported in April — though Warren did not confirm this to CBS Sports.

The current agreement, which expires in 2023, consists of a six-year, $2.64 billion deal that pays out about $440 million each year. 

Approval Process

Warren told CBS that by the end of May, the conference hopes agree upon a “memorandum of understanding.” That’s a more informal document that often comes before a formal contract.

 “This will be a very, very busy month,” he said.