Editorial

ESPN Acquires The Rights To Every SEC Football Game Starting In 2024

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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ESPN will become the sole home of the SEC in a few years.

After months and months of speculation on a new TV deal between the SEC and the sports media giant, the details are out, and ESPN hit a home run. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

ESPN announced the following late Thursday afternoon about the new deal with the SEC:

ESPN and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) have reached a new 10-year agreement beginning in 2024-25, which will add up to 15 premier football games, including top rivalries like Alabama vs. Auburn and Florida vs. Georgia, plus the SEC Football Championship, in addition to approximately eight marquee men’s basketball matchups each year across ESPN or ABC. With the new deal, every SEC football and men’s basketball game will now be carried on an ESPN network, including ABC, solidifying ESPN as the exclusive rights holder of the SEC and resulting in enhanced programming flexibility across both sports.

Financial details weren’t announced by ESPN or the SEC, but there have been some monster numbers thrown around.

According to The New York Times, ESPN will pay the SEC something in the ballpark of $3 billion over the course of the 10-year deal.

That’s a gigantic chunk of cash!

Seeing as how CBS reportedly only paid the SEC $55 million annually to air the top game every week, the conference is in for a huge pay increase with the new ESPN deal.

There’s simply no other way to cut it. If the $3 billion number from The NYT is accurate, and it seems like it most certainly is, then the SEC is going to be swimming in cash for a long time.

Props to the SEC for getting straight paid with this deal and props to ESPN for getting the rights to every single SEC football game.

That’s a power move if I’ve ever seen one.