‘Growing sentiment’: Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC could come as early as 2024
When the news first hit that the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns were moving to the SEC, the next question was, “when?”
From Brett Yormark to the networks that broadcast Big 12 games to the universities, all of the invested parties have maintained that 2025 would be when the move would take place. The Big 12’s current grant of rights agreement expires July 1, 2025. Yormark has also indicated that he’s open to a scenario that allows Oklahoma and Texas to leave early, given it’s a win-win scenario.
According to a report from Brett McMurphy of Action Network, “that timetable has since been accelerated and could even get completed by next month, sources said.”
Apparently, there is growing interest from all sides to work out an early exit agreement that would bring down what Oklahoma and Texas would have to pay in order to get out of the conference and their current media rights deal.
With the SEC’s new media rights deal with ESPN set to start in 2024, there’s an incentive for Oklahoma’s new home in the Southeast Conference and for ESPN, to get the Sooners and Longhorns in the conference earlier than anticipated.
The matchups that the “Worldwide Leader” could promote would bring huge advertising revenue for the media giant. Why wouldn’t they, or the SEC, want to make it happen as soon as possible? The big sticking point is Fox.
Fox is part of the Big 12’s current media rights deal and would hate to lose out on the revenue that Oklahoma and Texas bring to the table. According to McMurphy, the negotiations that will take place to allow OU and Texas to leave early will center on how to make all sides “whole” in the exit.
With the College Football Playoff set to expand in 2024, there’s less concern about expanded super conferences. The Big Ten and the SEC will still have the opportunity to get multiple teams into the playoff despite enhanced competition. For Oklahoma and Texas, they can move early, knowing that there’s a door to the playoff despite the step up in competition.
Last month, the Big 12 worked out a new grant of rights package that will pay them $2.3 billion from 2025 to 2030. A significant increase in revenue for their member institutions.
Playoff expansion, the Big 12’s new media rights deal, the conference’s success in 2022 without OU and Texas leading the way, along with the additions of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF may have opened the door for movement at the negotiating table.
As McMurphy notes, an agreement could be reached as early as next month with “growing sentiment” and “momentum” to come to a resolution.
And if the businessmen are motivated enough, they’ll reach an agreement. Which means Sooners fans better begin planning for some travel to the southeast in 2024.
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