ESPN and Big 12 Reportedly Approaching Lucrative TV Extension

The Big 12 has faced a dwindling quantity of elite teams, but that hasn't stopped them from reportedly landing a lucrative TV deal. 

The new deal is actually just an extension of the old deal, but given that the conference has swapped Texas A&M and Missouri for Texas Christian and West Virginia, this is a spectacular coup for the conference. 

Michael Smith and John Ourand, of the Sports Business Journal Daily, reported the deal and the details. 

"

The Big 12 and ESPN are nearing an extension that will earn the conference—combined with its Fox TV contract — $2.5 billion over the next 13 years, according to industry sources.

...Each Big 12 school will make roughly $5 million more a year in the new contract over the old deal. 

"

So, the Big 12 not only got the extension, they got a considerably higher paying deal.

Smith and Ourand went on to report that each school will get under $20 million a year from the TV deal. 

This is comparable to the recent deal struck by the Pac-12.

As Smith and Ourand also reported, that newly expanded conference recently reached a record $3 billion, 12-year deal with Fox and ESPN. That deal equals out to roughly $21 million per year, per team. 

Given these numbers, it is not surprising what Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said via conference call, and is quoted by Dave Curtis of the Sporting News:  

"

 Today's announcement shows why our media partners encouraged us to stay together. 

"

This deal highlights how important it was for the Big 12 to not only avoid completely disbanding, but to add Texas Christian and West Virginia to remain a 10 school conference. 

While no one is likely to argue that those two schools carry the same appeal as Missouri and Texas A&M, this deal is evidence that the Big 12 as a whole is still alive and well.