Why does Ohio State need Fox and the Big Ten? Plus SEC failures in the Shoe: Doug Rants

10 thoughts on the Buckeyes, including what they are getting out of their relationship with Fox.

Ohio State is hosting Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday, while dealing with another round of Fox headaches. (Photo by Doug Lesmerises

I think we’ll try this most Fridays — 10 thoughts from me on what’s happening with the Buckeyes and college football.

1. The Big Ten is in the early stages of a seven-year TV deal worth more than $7 billion. Each fully vested Big Ten school earned about $75 million in the latest fiscal year. The league expects that to rise to between $80 million and $100 million per school per year during the course of the deal, which expires in July 2030.

2. That money is distributed evenly. Purdue, Northwestern and Minnesota get as much as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. But I’ve always wondered how much of that value actually derives from Ohio State.

   The Buckeyes played in four of the highest-rated games of the regular season in 2024. That was OSU-Michigan at No. 2, OSU-Penn State at No. 6, OSU-Oregon at No. 7, and OSU-Indiana at No. 10. No Big Ten game without the Buckeyes made the Top 10.

   So Ohio State is 5.56 percent of the conference. Does it provide 20 percent of the value? 25 percent? A third? Closer to half? Imagine a Big Ten TV package without Ohio State.

   I’ll add this to a list of projects, and we’ll plan to ask experts so we can try to get an assessment of this.

Nuggets from Ohio State’s Game Notes vs. Texas

3. So, it seems obvious that the Big Ten (and its TV deal) needs the Buckeyes more than the Buckeyes need the Big Ten and this FOX/CBS/NBC package. Given how things have gone of late … why exactly would Ohio State be interested in re-upping a TV deal under the current parameters?

   This isn’t just a FOX question. It’s a Big Ten question.