Could the Big Ten get backing from a private equity fund? Per Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, the conference has been in talks "for months" about private capital investments worth at least $2 billion. The Big Ten has been in discussion for months with several private capital firms to infuse upwards of $2 billion into its schools that would require a 10-year extension of the grant of rights (2046) in a tiered distribution structure, sources tell@YahooSports, as ESPN reported. — Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger)October 1, 2025 According to ESPN,the investment would also come with a 10-year extension of the conference's media rights deal through the 2046 season. The Big Ten has one of the most lucrative media rights deals in college sports with CBS, Fox and NBC. "Our membership has clearly expressed the need to modernize the operations and structure of our conference to ensure that the Big Ten remains best positioned to offer the highest level of athletic and academic excellence in a rapidly evolving landscape,"a Big Ten statement to multiple outlets said. "Over a year ago, we initiated a comprehensive evaluation of our practices to identify partnerships that could secure the financial stability of our member institutions and allow us to not only protect, but expand, opportunities for our student-athletes. This is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to finding a path that strengthens the conference for the future." An extension of the media rights agreement would ostensibly tie the Big Ten's 18 schools together for the foreseeable future, though we've learned to never say never when it comes to conference expansion. Schools are currently paid out annually via their share of the conference's media rights agreements as schools got north of $63 million for the 2024 fiscal year. The private capital setup would reportedly divide the league's annual distributions into 20 parts; 18 shares for each of the 18 teams in the conference, one for the Big Ten itself and one for the investor. If the deal went through, Big Ten schools could each reportedly get a nine-figure upfront payment. From ESPN: "Think of it this way — the conference is not selling a piece of the conference," a league source told ESPN. "Traditional conference functions would remain 100% with the conference office — scheduling, officiating and championships. The new entity being created would focus on business development, and it would include an outside investor with a small financial stake." As private equity deals have crept into the sports world in recent years it feels only like a matter of time before a school's athletic department or a league itself strikes a deal with an investment firm in a manner like this. The Big 12 said this spring that it had explored private equity investment but thatit was "not ready" at the time. A week ago, the State Street private equity firmagreed to a 3% stakein the New England Patriots at a $9 billion valuation for the franchise. A year ago, the NFL's owners voted to allow an approved group of private equity investors to purchase shares of teams. If the Big Ten's deal gains traction, you can bet that other conferences will look to follow suit. As athletic departments race to break even in college sports' new revenue-sharing era and conferences are trying to keep up with the Big Ten and SEC's media rights deals, the search for more and more funding avenues is seemingly never-ending.
