The Big Ten’s equal revenue-sharing model could change. Ohio State president Ted Carter told USA Today during an interview on Sept. 9 that he expects the Big Ten will talk about the revenue-sharing model, as the ACC adopted a model in which 60 percent of the conference’s media rights revenue will be distributed proportionally based on a five-year rolling average of each school’s football and men’s basketball TV ratings.
“It doesn’t matter what Ted Carter thinks. I think that’s going to be a conversation that will be had over time,” Carter said when asked by USA Today if the Big Ten should adopt a similar model to the ACC.
As it stands under the Big Ten’s current media rights deal, which runs through the 2029-2030 season, every program, except for the newest members Oregon and Washington, has an equal split of revenue. Considering Ohio State is often the most-watched college football team in the Big Ten, a shift to a proportional-based revenue model would only help the Buckeyes.
“I will say that there’s only a couple of schools that really represent the biggest brands in the Big Ten, and you can see that by the TV viewership,” Carter told USA Today. “I mean, look what we just went through with the Texas game. … 16.6 million people watching that game over the whole game, and it peaked at 18.6 million. It’s the most-watched opening game in history, the third-largest game ever watched in a regular season on Fox. That’s what happens when you put the Ohio State brand out there.”
While the conference’s revenue-sharing model could change, what will remain the same is Ohio State’s place inside the Big Ten, Carter said.
“I don’t want to get into the type of conversations that are happening inside the Big Ten,” Carter said. “I would just tell you that we’re a proud member of the Big Ten, and that’s where we’re going to stay. We have… our own bylaws for how we do the distributions. When new members join the conference, they don’t always come in at the same share. So … that’s the way our media rights deals are set up. That’s how we’re set up for now.”
