Texas, Oklahoma in Negotiations to Leave for SEC Early, per Report

The Big 12 grant of rights currently ties the schools to the league until 2025.

The Big 12’s grant of rights originally was expected to keep Texas and Oklahoma in the league until 2025, when they are set to leave for the SEC. However, according to new reports, there is real momentum towards the two sides reaching an agreement that would see the two schools departing the conference a year early.

The Action Network first reported that the two schools are engaged in discussions with the Big 12 about an early move. The Athletic quotes an unnamed Big 12 school official as saying the two sides are “definitely engaged on it,” with another source saying that “it’s likely they are leaving early.” In addition, two Big 12 athletic directors “expressed confidence a deal would be reached,” per the report.

An early jump to the SEC for 2024 would line up with a number of other significant changes coming to college football, including the SEC’s gargantuan new ESPN deal, College Football Playoff expansion to 12 teams and the Big Ten’s own expansion to 16 teams with the additions of USC and UCLA.  

The Big 12’s grant of rights would cause any departing member to give up final two years of league revenue—nearly $43 million per school for the league in 2021–22. Through the negotiations, the two sides will likely try to find a middle ground, allowing Texas and Oklahoma to join their new conference while giving the schools they leave behind some significant compensation, enough to “cancel out a gap that exists” for the remaining programs, a source for The Athletic said in the report.

A decision on a 2024 move for the Sooners and Longhorns must be reached soon. As the report points out, Big 12 bylaws say that members must give 18-month notice of a departure from the league. For the schools to leave in time for the ’24 football season, that deadline comes on Dec. 31, just a few weeks from now.