According to Big Ten legend, an ESPN executive once told Jim Delany he'd be rolling the dice if he walked away from the conglomerate's offer for the rights to Big Ten games.
"Consider them rolled," Jim Delany reportedly replied before walking out of the room.
It seemed like quite the gambit at the time, but now? Not so much.
According to Chip Scroggins of StarTribune.com, the Big Ten paid $30.9 million to each of its members last year. Rutgers and Maryland likely did not receive the full share, much like Nebraska didn't upon joining the league. The Big Ten office also gets a cut.
Of the payments, $7 million was generated by the Big Ten Network, a number that's going to balloon after BTN signs another TV rights deal next year.
The SEC, by comparison, shelled out as much as $31.2 million per school.
That'd be a good year's work by most companies standards, but Jim Delany reportedly thinks the Big Ten could net its schools as much as $50 million per year in the near future.
H/T: Hettuck
