Report: Big Ten media rights deal includes 'specific language' about Notre Dame, conference expansion

Notre Dame might be independent for now, but many believe the Fighting Irish could join the Big Ten within the next few years. Further credence was given to that possibility Monday, when Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand revealed details from the conference’s recent media rights deal.

“If Notre Dame joins the Big Ten within the next seven years, CBS, Fox and NBC know exactly how much extra they will have to pay in rights fees,” Ourand wrote. “That specific dollar figure, which is not publicly known, is spelled out in the contracts.”

According to Ourand, several other sources confirmed that the Fighting Irish are the only school mentioned by name in the contracts. If the Big Ten were to add any other team, the networks have agreed to have good-faith conversations with the conference about opening their deals and adjusting their rights fees. However, no dollar figure has been given in that case.

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“Having a specific number attached to Notre Dame provides the conference and the Fighting Irish with some certainly for the value of their rights if the Irish do decide to join the Big Ten,” Ourand wrote.

The Big Ten announced its new media rights deal, worth $7 billion, this past week. The deal features agreements with CBS, FOX, NBC and NBCUniversal’s Peacock and will begin in July 2023.

Notre Dame currently has an agreement with NBC, and previously said it will remain independent if it can secure $75 million annually in its next media rights deal. The school’s contract with NBC runs through 2025 and pays an average of $15 million per year.

To reach their goal of $75 million, the Fighting Irish called for NBC to find “shoulder programming” from a Power 5 conference to bring in more revenue. The Big Ten now figures to help in that regard, as its new media rights deal includes 14-to-16 games on NBC every season.

With the world of college football changing so quickly, it’s impossible to predict what the next move in conference realignment will be. But Notre Dame has been the top target of late, and the language in the Big Ten’s new media rights deal goes to show the conference is not stopping in its pursuit of the Fighting Irish.