ROSEMONT, Ill. — When Tony Petitti took over as the commissioner of the Big Ten, he prioritized integrating USC and UCLA, exploring a new media rights deal, and focusing on how to best navigate the new world of NIL in college athletics.
It was expected that one of his first and quickest tasks would be completing a $7 billion TV contract which had been negotiated by his predecessor, Kevin Warren, but what looked like a simple formality has devolved into a frenzy.
According to an industry source who spoke to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, “These deals aren’t done, and they aren’t what they were represented to be from the standpoint of the NBC deal and the availability of all members to participate in November games in primetime.”
So what does this mean for the ACC? Well, according to Locked on ACC host Kenton Gibbs, it’s a sign teams clamoring to move out of the conference should pump the brakes.
“If you are a team in the ACC and you are looking at one of the two conferences that are crushing it financially, only one of them is showing stability and that’s the SEC,” Gibbs said. “Can they take all of you? Would it even make financial sense? Do you bring in the type of revenue that warrants it making sense for the SEC to take you?”
Many schools in the ACC have become restless seeing the amount of money being tossed around by the SEC and Big Ten, but Gibbs argues the grass is not always greener on the other side, and the latest financial issues in the Big Ten prove that.
Does this mean schools should stand pat in the ACC if they have opportunities to explore other options? Not necessarily, but it is always worth remembering that what you see isn’t always what you get, and the high dollar figures other programs in the most lucrative conferences are getting isn’t always what it seems.