Subsidized time hasn’t arrived yet, but fans of David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest” might find the idea of college football conferences getting sponsored amusing. College football has significantly changed from a decade ago. The legalization of player compensation through name, image, and likeness (NIL), relaxed rules on the transfer portal, and the Supreme Court’s decision allowing universities to pay players directly have dramatically altered the sport and college athletics overall. With the influx of money, players, coaches, schools, and even conferences are in a race to find new revenue sources. On Thursday, one conference announced another unprecedented financial move for the upcoming fall.
The Big 12 conference, which includes strong college sports programs like Kansas State, Texas Tech, Utah, and BYU, is considering a highly lucrative naming rights deal with Allstate. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, this deal could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars for the conference.
On Thursday, social media buzzed with reports about the Big 12 conference pursuing a lucrative title sponsorship deal with insurance giant Allstate. According to Brent McMurphy of the Action Network, potential names being considered include “The Big Allstate Conference” and “The Allstate 12 Conference.” The deal could bring the Big 12 between $30 million and $50 million per season, with the revenue shared among the conference’s 16 members.
The Big 12 could also sidestep their deal with the insurance giant, partnering with financial company CVC Capital Partners on a slightly more lucrative contract. A global private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners, would provide the league with nearly $1 billion in cash infusion for a return of 15% to 20% stake in the conference. League commissioner Brett Yormark met with the CVC Capital Partners brass earlier this year. Naturally, football fans were taken aback by the news on Thursday, with many calling out the league for selling out. Many fans took to social media, voicing their anger with the current direction of the sport.
