Commissioner Kevin Warren and the Big Ten made a major move on Thursday, agreeing to a TV deal with Fox, CBS and NBC worth upwards of $7 billion. But Warren isn't going to stop there. The commissioner has a big vision for the conference. In an interview with Bryan Gumbel set to air on HBO on Tuesday, Warren dropped this major revelation on Big Ten expansion and paying players, per Brett McMurphy of Action Network.
Big Ten’s Kevin Warren tells @RealSportsHBO he sees Big Ten having 20 members & paying players. “Those (paying players) are things we have to resolve. We have to. So I want to be part of this conversation & will be part of this conversation of what we can do to make this better”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 19, 2022
Wow. Kevin Warren simply said “we have to”, when the subject of paying players came up. Warren also said that he envisions the Big Ten having “20 members.” Those are certainly lofty goals.
However, the Big Ten is already high stepping it towards the expansion benchmark, as the conference will add USC and UCLA in 2024. Plus, McMurphy reported last month that Warren and company were continuing to look into expansion options, with big schools, such as Notre Dame and Oregon atop their list.
It certainly makes sense. An expanded conference means increased revenue opportunities. And after securing the biggest TV deal in the land, why would Kevin Warren stop there?
As for paying players, it's a subject that was already addressed by one of the Big Ten's biggest stars, Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback CJ Stroud, who said he felt the revenue “should be shared.”
It appears that Warren agrees with Stroud, at least in principle. Whether it actually happens or not, remains to be seen.
What is crystal clear from Kevin Warren's interview, is that the Big Ten has big plans for the future.
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