Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)
- Thread starter ISUcyclones11
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Nike only has 10 of the 16 Big Ten schools so I'm not sure how that would work and they can't even get to all 16 because Under Armour's founder is Maryland's biggest donor so there isn't a path to getting to everybody.
FWIW--Maryland, Wisconsin and Northwestern are Under Armour. Rutgers, Indiana and Nebraska are Adidas. UCLA and Michigan are technically Jordan but that falls under Nike, of course.
Back to TV deals for a second, I am really hoping that Amazon and more ideally (imo), Apple are in the mix to be a major player for whatever the new Big 12 will be after Pac schools join. Seeing headlines for what they’re paying for MLB and NFL games shows how ambitious they are to get into sports. If they want in on NCAA, what a time to make a splash- both for them and for the schools. Add in this potential NBC thing as well and it seems there is a lot to look forward to. Could NBC have Saturday games with Apple having a marquee Big 12 Thursday or Friday night game? Not even sure if that’s possible but would be fun, I think.
I just don't see #2 or #3 working due to differently motivated factions within the PAC. I'd break them down into 3 groups:
- Schools that are banking on a Big 10 invite - UW, Oregon, Stanford
- Schools that probably have more value than the PAC could provide, but shouldn't expect a Big 10 invite: Utah, AZ, AZ St, maybe CO.
- Schools that know the PAC is their best option: Cal, OR St, WA St.
I could see Groups #1 and #3 going for option #2. The Group #1 schools don't want to get tied up in a long-term GOR should they get the Big 10 invite, and the current situation may be tolerable for a couple more years. Group #3 would be willing to do anything to keep them out of essentially a G5 conference for as long as possible. If they can get 5 more years, that's better than the alternative.
But the problem for the PAC is, what are Group #2's motivations? There's really nothing the PAC can do to change the trajectory, future changes would only make things worse should Group #1 actually get the Big 10 invite. What's going to be different in 5-10 years?
This is some outside the box thinking. As someone mentioned not everyone in the conference is Nike or would consider switching but it is an interesting idea on how a billionaire could shift the narrative. Several of schools left on the table have some very wealthy donors that could certainly be thinking along those lines.
Keep in mind that Nike is a publicly traded company that ultimately reports to their shareholders. Knight owns 24%, so he certain still has a lot of influence, but the remaining shareholders aren't going to want to throw a bunch of money at Knight's pet project. There has to be a return for that money.
So all of those contracts are set for life and none of them schools would sign on to 3-5 times more money for a Nike Deal in place of their current deal?
You are saying because you have a Ford Taurus you wouldn't trade it in for a free Bugatti with a trunk full of Cash because you still had 3 payments left on the Ford.
Schools don't pay. Nike has deals with something like 50% of the D1 football programs and it was something like 75% of teams in the NCAA Hoops Tournament.
Nike offers schools different deals based on the schools prestige. Schools like UNC, Michigan, Oregon and Olahoma have Jordan branded apparel. The vast majority have the Nike brand. The deals cover apparel, shoes, equipment and cash. That can be a pretty substantial in-kind agreement.
Under Armours founder & Chairman is a Maryland grad, so for Nike to put in place a conference wide apparel deal would be tough as a number of Big10 schools have their own apparel deals with Under Armour and Adidas.
Texas has a Nike deal worth about $10M/year over 15 years. So Nike is heavily invested in college sport.
If Phil Knight wants to support Oregon, he can just donate to Oregon directly and Oregon can agree to take a less than full share from the Big10.
That is easy to spin, simply say you are further entrenching your relationship with those schools. Big ten had 4 of the top 8 team in rankings and 6 of the top 12 teams could easily justify the increased money to keep those schools from looking elseware. Don't think it will happen but you certainly could make it work to a board.
Can I ask why you would choose Apple over Amazon?
For number of people with Amazon vs Apple its not even close Amazon dwarfs Apple.
Amazon is closer to OTA numbers when it comes to access.
My guess is Amazon has deeper pockets to bid on this.
Not sure which has more infrastructure in place, Amazon has started doing NFL, Apple MLB but both would be new to the game. So would be a learning curve I am sure.
Just curious why some would choose one streaming service over the other.
5 of the 6 probably would (though Wisconsin is signed through 2032) but the CEO of Jaguar isn't going to be seen driving a Mercedes.
Apple also has MLS and their streaming interface is much better then amazon. Amazon buys things and because they have so much money don't always care if the acquisition works out or not, just look at twitch. Apple seems way more on top of things in my mind.
I dont doubt that, I just wonder if he would fund it with his own resources through a Nike deal. Nike would still benefit from the advertising, He would get his pet school in, and the schools would benefit from the money and gear. etc.
This is really outside the box, but it seams like Knight is willing to do just about anything to get Oregon in. Would he, could he, do something like this? Is it enough? Does the Big 10 care, bite?
Maybe its crazy thinking. But these extremely wealthy people seem to be able to pull strings and make deals that no one ever can fathom.
The ex fox guy had the PAC at 30MM average. Saying he said oregon at 30MM is disingenuous.
Honestly, just personal preference and I totally get your point that Amazon is likely the better partner here in terms of viewership. Though, I do like the production value that Apple has shown with the MLB stuff, and I’d assume that would grow with NFL (and NCAA if it became a reality). Again, all subjective. Heck, just give me a provider that can offer some more games in 4K!
Like I said, he still has plenty of influence over the company. He has access to the board and can try to make a case for spending more money with the Big Ten, but is still has to make financial sense. Some people are acting like he still calls all the shots at Nike and can spend Nike money on whatever he wants. That's simply not the case.
Pac-12 Fans: Come on everyone, screw the Big 12. We have such more prestige, bigger media markets, and are more valuable because we have much more eyeballs
Big 12 Fans: ............... that don't watch Pac-12 sports
Big 12 Fans: ............... that don't watch Pac-12 sports
The ex fox guy had oregon and washington at 60M or 30M each. Never said what the rest were worth. Then several media types took that as 30M per for the rest of the Pac 10 or 300M total. Which is not what he said.
Then other rumors came out that the Pac was offered 220-250M per year for the Conference. Which puts it probably closer to reality.
But media at 25M per, plus, other income from bowls, NCAA etc puts them in the Low 30s probably.
Big 12 Est. value after OUT is 40M+ per, But Not sure it that includes additions for T3, or Bowls, NCAA, Etc.
Either way there is at least a 10-15M Per minimum difference as we stand. If not much more.
Are we sure is wasn't "as a package together they'd EACH be worth 60m"? 30m just does not sound right.
Apple has the most cash/cash equivalents on its b/s over $200B.
Amazon has less than half that. Comparatively, Disney has around $18M.
