The Big 12 Lands Surprisingly Large New Media Deal

PublishedOctober 30, 2022 11:25 AM EDT|UpdatedOctober 30, 2022 11:25 AM EDT

Brett Yormark has landed the Big 12 a substantial new media deal.

The conference has agreed to a new media deal with ESPN and Fox worth $2.28 billion over six years, according to John Ourand.

That means the geographically large conference will average $380 million a year in media revenue over the course of the extension, which runs through the 2030-2031. The current media rights deal runs through 2024-25.

The Big 12 lands massive new media deal. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

As pointed out by Stewart Mandel, conference members will now make slightly more than the current deal, even with Texas and Oklahoma headed to the SEC in the coming years.

That means Brett Yormark somehow managed to secure an incredible media rights deal, despite losing his two most valuable assets. To say he did an incredible job would be an understatement. This is surprising and awesome for everyone involved.

What does the Big 12 getting a new media deal mean for the PAC-12?

The question now is whether or not this is enough money to interest some PAC-12 teams in possibly jumping ship.

The conference having guaranteed revenue of more than $2 billion on the extension is huge. It allows Brett Yormark to go to PAC-12 schools with a legit guaranteed number.

The Big 12 agrees to a six-year media rights extension with Fox and ESPN. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images)

Remember, the PAC-12 currently has no media rights extension, and it's unclear when one might happen. It's also not clear how much the PAC-12 can demand in media revenue.

With USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten starting in 2024, the conference's value has taken a massive hit. Of course, the Big 12 was in a similar position and still landed a massive extension.

Will any PAC-12 teams leave the conference? (Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The league's new media deal was always going to be the next domino to fall. Now that it has, where do conferences and expansion go from here? That's potentially a multi-billion dollar question.