Sources: Big 12 lands private capital deal
The Big 12 has struck its long-discussed private capital deal — the first such publicized conference-wide agreement in major college sports. The league’s presidents and chancellors ratified the five-year agreement with capital partner RedBird last week, as well as Weatherford Capital, finalizing a three-prong package: to deliver an infusion of capital — at least $12. 5 million — to the league office to drive commercial development and business growth; offer schools an opt-in capital credit line of $30 million each; and create a strategic business partnership that could pay off when the conference next goes to market for its media rights contract.
The Big 12 is describing the deal as the “RedBird Business Development Partnership. ” As part of their Collegiate Athletic Solutions partnership, the firms are co-investing the infusion into the conference with an expected return. However, the capital partners will hold no ownership in the league and the deal will not change the operation or governance of the conference, commissioner Brett Yormark told Yahoo Sports.
The vote from presidents and chancellors last Thursday finalized an agreement that’s been under discussion now for more than two years — a deal spearheaded by Yormark and his board chair, Doug Girod, the Kansas president. “At the highest level what I hope to get out of this is a really strong partnership that positions our conference well into the future including for our next media deal by creating increased value,” Girod told Yahoo Sports in an interview this week. The $12.
5 million in capital to the league — a number that could grow — will be invested in “revenue-generating opportunities,” Girod said. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy benefits of the deal is the exclusive college partnership with RedBird, a New York-based investment management firm with $12 billion in assets and an array of companies within its portfolio, including Paramount Global. Paramount holds ownership of CBS and soon is expected to acquire TNT — two of the leading broadcast partners within the college sports ecosystem.
The Big 12’s current media deal — primarily owned by ESPN and Fox — ends in 2031. A league’s media rights deal usually accounts for a majority of a conference’s revenue distributed to its member schools. “We did the necessary due diligence in order to land in a great place,” Yormark told Yahoo Sports.
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