ESPN Has Some Options and A Nice Opportunity:
PAC 12 revenue payouts for 2022 were 37 million.
ACC revenue payouts for 2022 were 37.9 million plus bowl and playoff money and tourney creds.
The SEC payouts were 49.9 but will jump closer to 75 by 2024.
What are the Options?
ESPN could move 4 ACC schools to the SEC and create a 20 team conference.
Let's assume that the schools most anxious to make more are Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and North Carolina. Or that they are Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia.
In either case the ACC is reduced to 10 full member schools and Notre Dame as a partial.
Notre Dame requires games in Georgia, Florida, and might like them in Louisiana and Texas.
ESPN knows it needs late night games and preferably games with decent content.
ESPN could create two 20 team conferences, dominate content, elevate payouts for the ACCN in which they split profits, which means it's not a cash outlay, and they could nearly double the reach of the ACCN if they picked up the 10 PAC 12 schools and merged them with the ACC.
ACC:
California, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Stanford, Utah
Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, Wake Forest
Use the escalator clause for the ACC contract and establish 38 million as the payout for all. Since FOX pays half of the PAC 12 contract now, the total cost to ESPN would be 190 million for the PAC move. For the 4 ACC schools moving to the SEC the total cost would be 37 million each or 154 million.
The SEC:
Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M
Alabama, Florida State, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State
Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Clemson, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia
ESPN creates two 20 member Power Conferences which suck the oxygen out of further realignment.
The Big 12 expands from the Moutain West and AAC to create the 4th Conference.
The Big 10 and FOX have no place to go and stay at 16.
The ACC increases its total revenue by adding the in state subscription rate for the ACCN to Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. They only lose South Carolina's 5 million from the footprint in this move.
They essentially get the PAC 12 for what their full rate is now. They increase inventory which reduces cost, they make interest in the ACC national which reduces cost via advertising, and the ACC and PAC share an academic standing which is strong but not exclusive like the Big 10's.
ESPN for what likely would wind up being a total cash outlay of 150 million after the value of added inventory, enhanced markets, and in the SEC enhanced content vs content games are subtracted, and the added market reach of each subscription network (ACCN & SECN) are subtracted would be the cheapest dominance ESPN could possibly buy.
They would control 40 schools plus 1 and half of the Big 12 when it came time for votes on the postseason and the possible new hoops tourney. And considering their haul of the expanded playoff would be around 750 million a year 150 million for control, the highest volume of content, and tremendous reach and branding would seem to be a no brainer.
The split East and West Coast divisions provide plenty of local play for non revenue sports and revenue sports and cuts the number of cross country games way down.
The SEC dominates the SE for football and the ACC dominates for basketball and the two compliment each other quite well.
Should ESPN pick up Notre Dame's T1 there are ample games for the Irish to play out West, in the Deep South and at home with interesting schedules to stimulate attendance and donations.
I see a lot of potential in this.
It is one way ESPN could essentially end realignment for the foreseeable future.
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ESPN Has Some Options and A Nice Opportunity:
