According to a report from Sports Business Daily, the price on the Big Ten brick is about to go up.
ABC and ESPN currently pay $100,000,000 a year to the Big Ten for primary rights to its football games. CBS pays $12,000,000 a year for basketball rights. Those contracts expire at the end of the 2016-17 season, however.
Fox and the Big Ten are reportedly hammering out the fine print on a six-year deal that could pay the conference as much as $250,000,000 annually for half its media rights, which means is 25 football games and 50 basketball games to be broadcast on its network and FS1.
SBD also reports ESPN, CBS, NBC and Turner to engage in bidding for the other half of the Big Ten's media rights as live sports remain one of the last holy grails in television.
And yes, if you listen closely enough you will hear Jim Delany softly chuckling as he sips a glass of sparkling cider somewhere in the distance.
