An ESPN GameDay logo is displayed at the Capital One Orange Bowl game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida State Seminoles at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on December 30, 2023.
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The NCAA and ESPN have reached a new eight-year media rights deal worth more than $115 million a year, as the value of sports media rights reaches new heights.
The new agreement has an annual value of roughly three times the current 14-year contract, which pays about $40 million a year.
An NCAA spokesperson confirmed that an additional 25%, or $28.75 million annually, will help with production and marketing costs.
“ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong, collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are delighted that it will continue as part of this new long-term agreement,” said ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro.
The new agreement goes into effect September 1 and runs through 2032. It will include the rights to 40 NCAA championships (21 women’s and 19 men’s events), as well as exclusive championship coverage of all rounds of women’s basketball, women’s volleyball , women’s gymnastics and softball. , baseball and FCS football. It also provides the international rights to the 40 championships and the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
“Having a multi-platform home to showcase our championships provides additional growth potential along with a greater experience for the viewer and our student-athletes,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.
As the sports media landscape changes, women’s sports have been a bright spot, reaching record ratings in recent years. ESPN has benefited by broadcasting the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and the WNBA playoffs, among other sports.
IMG and Endeavor’s WME Sports, which consulted the NCAA about the deal, say about 57% of the deal’s value is tied specifically to women’s college basketball, Baker told the Associated Press.
The NCAA said the dramatic increase in the value of NCAA media rights will allow it to explore revenue-sharing units for the women’s basketball tournament, a topic the organization began discussing last year.
Last year, complaints of inequality overshadowed the women’s tournament when several players posted on social media that their facilities were significantly worse than the men’s.
“Concurrently with the terms of the new media rights, several enhancements to student-athlete benefits in all three NCAA divisions will go into effect, and this agreement will help fund those important programs. And the integrated national platform that provides the ESPN family of networks to help increase the visibility of many NCAA sports, particularly for our student-athletes,” said Linda Livingstone, chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and president of Baylor University.
ESPN and the NCAA’s relationship has spanned more than 45 years, since ESPN launched in 1979.
The NBA has the next major professional sports rights at stake. The league is in negotiations with a host of interested parties as it looks to make a decision before the current agreement expires after the 2024-25 season.
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