Getty Image / Michael Hickey
The Big Ten is the undisputed financial powerhouse in college athletics, and commissioner Kevin Warren is partially to thank for that. His foresight in getting the new Big Ten deal across the finish line was tremendous.
That Big Ten media deal gave the Big Ten deals with Fox, NBC and CBS. Each university could receive annual payouts of over $80 million annually starting in 2024, well above what any other conference is getting.
He also brought in USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. That gave the conference the crucial Los Angeles market and made it a true coast-to-coast league.
But, he’s moving on, as he will now be the president of the Chicago Bears.
Sources: The #Bears are expected to name Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren as their new president and CEO. A major hire for the organization and for Warren, who spent time in the NFL prior to college football as a top executive for the #Vikings.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2023
I love this hire for the Chicago Bears. Warren has shown to be an incredible business mind and a forward thinker who can bring people together with different goals to find common ground. It’s a big next few years for the Bears. They’re looking to build a new stadium, they have to decide whether they’re going to build around Justin Fields, and the franchise overall just needs to get back on track.
As for the Big Ten, it opens up arguably the most coveted job in college sports. That person will walk into a dream television contract that will assure the prosperity of the league’s members for a long time. But, they will face challenges left by Warren, such as athlete compensation and future football scheduling.