ESPN has “indicated a willingness to increase its payment to the SEC if the conference adds a ninth game to its league football schedule,” according to sources cited by Emerson & Marchand of THE ATHLETIC. Sources said that there is “no formal offer yet” and the “exact amount of the increase is unclear.” But the sources added that the additional money “would likely be in the range” of $50-80M annually on top of the current deal, in which ESPN pays the conference $811M per year. Now the main hurdle to expanding the league schedule “may be the future College Football Playoff format.” Still, ESPN’s willingness to up its ante “is an important development,” as it has been “one of the main sticking points among enough SEC members to resist the push for nine games.” Some of the concern was “economic: A nine-game schedule means schools would play one fewer home conference game every two years, and they wanted ESPN to help make up the difference.” The conference went with a “temporary fix of eight-game football schedules for 2024 and ’25,” and one reason was the “hope that the success of the inaugural season with Oklahoma and Texas would encourage ESPN.” That “appears to be exactly what happened.” Another factor in a potential move off of eight-game slates is the SEC “working closely with the Big Ten,” which plays a nine-game conference schedule, and the conferences’ consideration of future scheduling partnerships “may hinge on playing the same number of league opponents” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/7).
Report: ESPN willing to increase payment to SEC if ninth league game added
