HARTFORD, Conn. – The American Athletic Conference and ESPN have reached agreement on a new 12-year television contract that will increase revenue to the league's schools but leaves them far behind their Power Five counterparts.
An official with knowledge of the negotiations says the conference will receive about $1 billion over the next decade and in exchange ESPN will get the rights to all AAC games, many of which will be broadcast on ESPN-Plus, the company's a la carte digital platform.
Recommended Videos
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contracts have not been signed, said the deal will provide each member school with an average of just under $7 million a year.
The agreement, first reported by Sports Business Journal Daily, runs from the 2020-21 academic year through 2031-32.
Among the Power Five, the Atlantic Coast Conference had smallest revenue distribution payouts to its members last season at an average of $26.6 million.