Oregon State, Washington State getting screwed by new CFP deal
On Friday, a new College Football Playoff deal was struck with ESPN that is slated to begin in 2026.
Notre Dame and the executives from the 10 FBS conferences came to terms with ESPN on a new revenue-distribution model related to upcoming changes to the College Football Playoff. The field could expand to 12 or 14 teams, but that has not yet been decided.
The six-year extension runs through 2031 and will pay the CFP $1.3 billion annually ($7.8 billion total). The SEC and Big Ten conference could each bring home as much as 29 percent of that, but the deal won’t be nearly as lucrative for Oregon State and Washington State.
The two remaining Pac- 12 programs could receive less than one percent of that revenue — about $360,000 each. That’s a far cry from the $6 million-plus they have receive historically, reports Heather Dinich of ESPN.
According to sources, Washington State and Oregon State are expecting to receive $360,000 each per year in the new contract – 1/5 of the $1.8 million Group of 5 schools would each make. Historically, they received between $6-7 million per school as members of the Pac-12.
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) March 15, 2024
“The College Football Playoff’s decision to drastically reduce the Pac-12 Conference’s rightful share of CFP revenues beginning in 2026 means that the future financial gap we are challenged to solve may widen significantly,” Oregon State and Washington State said in a joint statement.
“Our commitment to student-athletes, however, remains unquestioned, and the excellence of OSU’s and WSU’s athletics programs cannot be denied. We have proven we are up to these challenges. Negotiations with the CFP continue, and we continue to explore all options on behalf of student-athletes and our universities.”
CFP executive director Bill Hancock says both Oregon State and Washington State will be eligible to participate in the College Football Playoff over the next two season but after that, the future is uncertain.
“Oregon State and Washington State are eligible to participate in the CFP this year and next year, and they’ll be eligible in the future depending on what they do, assuming they remain as FBS schools,” Hancock said, via ESPN. “There will be a path for them to participate in the CFP.”
All conferences will remain eligible so long as they have a minimum of eight teams. With 10 teams schedule to leave the Pac-12 next year, only Oregon State and Washington State will remain.
In order for their programs to survive, they will either need to find new conference homes for themselves or convince at least six other programs to join the Pac-12.
