How much money are Oregon and Washington getting from the Big Ten?
Dec 31, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks helmet at press conference at the L.A. Hotel Downtown in advance of the 2015 Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Pac-12 is falling apart and Oregon and Washington are now joining the Big Ten. When UCLA and USC announced last year that they were going to the Big Ten, those schools received full shares of Big Ten media revenue in order to move. The Big Ten media package is expected to pay member schools $60 million annually. That hefty figure provides the member schools with enough revenue to pay for the top coaches and facilities to (theoretically) build some of the best athletic programs in the country.
While UCLA and USC are getting full revenue shares upon entering the Big Ten in 2024, that will not be the case for Oregon and Washington.
The Ducks and Huskies jumped to the Big Ten at a time of desperation when the Pac-12 was crumbling. That was a benefit to the Big Ten, which only gave the schools partial shares in the revenue from their media rights.
Oregon and Washington reportedly will receive around $30 million in 2024. They will receive a $1 million annual raise until the new media deal comes in 2030, at which point the two schools will be considered full members.
Sources confirm @Matt_Fortuna report that new B1G members Oregon and Washington will enter the league at a reduced revenue share of around $30 million, which would increase by $1 million each year during the current media rights deal with FOX/NBC/CBS.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 4, 2023
Yes, it is truly astonishing that Rutgers (and Maryland too) will receive a full share of the Big Ten media rights revenue pie, while schools like Oregon and Washington are begging for a partial share. But that is the reality of the situation.
Once you mix in the additional travel costs for Oregon and Washington to join the Big Ten, they’re not exactly gaining too much money compared to the streaming TV deal that was offered to the Pac-12. But that doesn’t really matter, because Oregon and Washington were boxed into a corner and are probably thrilled to be on the Big Ten lifeboat.