NCAA and ESPN sign 8-year, $920 million media rights deal

The NCAA and ESPN have agreed a new eight-year media rights deal worth more than $115 million per year, as the value of sports media rights reaches new heights.

The new agreement covers an annual value of about three times the current amount of the 14-year deal, which pays about $40 million a year.

An NCAA spokesperson confirmed that an additional 25 percent, or $28.75 million per year, will help cover production and marketing costs.

“ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong, collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are thrilled that it will continue under this new long-term agreement,” said ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro.

The new agreement will take effect Sept. 1 and run through 2032. It will include rights to 40 NCAA championships — 21 women’s and 19 men’s — as well as exclusive coverage of all championships in women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, softball, baseball and FCS football. It also provides international rights to all 40 championships and Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

“Having a single, multi-platform venue to showcase our championships provides additional growth potential and a more enriching experience for the viewer and our student-athletes,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.

As the sports media landscape evolves, women’s sport is a bright spot as it ranks audience records in recent years. ESPN has benefited from broadcasting the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and the WNBA playoffs, among other sports.

Endeavor’s IMG and WME Sports, which advised the NCAA on 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 distribution 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, with several players posting on social media that their facilities were significantly worse than the men’s.

“Along with the new media rights, several enhancements to student-athlete benefits across all three NCAA divisions will come into effect, and this agreement will help fund these important programs. And the integrated national platform that the ESPN family of networks provides will 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.

The relationship between ESPN and the NCAA spans more than 45 years, dating back to ESPN’s launch in 1979.

THE NBA owns rights to next major professional sports The league is in negotiations with a plethora of interested parties as it looks to make its decision before the current deal expires after the 2024-25 season.

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