Sources: Big 12 exploring selling naming rights to conference
An unprecedented move could net the league hundreds of millions of dollars, a huge step toward closing the financial gap with the Big Ten and SEC.
The Big 12 is seriously exploring the possibility of selling naming rights to the conference, a deal that would potentially land the league hundreds of millions of dollars in extra revenue at a time when the Big Ten and SEC have separated themselves financially from the rest of the college landscape.
A league source told The Inside Zone that the Big 12 has been in discussions with multiple major American companies for an arrangement that could mirror that of a major bowl sponsorship.
“Think more like the Orange Bowl and less the Potato Bowl,” a source explained, stressing the difference between the former’s sponsorship (Capital One) and the latter’s (Idaho Potato Commission).
Yahoo! Sports first reported the talks, which were presented to Big 12 administrators during the conference’s annual spring meetings last month in Dallas.
The length of such a deal would be unknown, and it is still, at minimum, months away from even potentially happening. And that’s assuming that commissioner Brett Yormark can convince the majority of his membership to sign off on such an arrangement.