Big Ten Weighs Private Equity Deals To Fund New $20.5M Student-Athlete Payments

In a sentence that just a few years ago would have seemed unimaginable, the Big Ten Conference is reportedly considering taking on investment from private equity firms.

It's another sign of the shifting landscape in college football, which has almost officially stopped being considered as a part of the education system, and transitioned fully into being business and industry. Big Ten schools are expected to receive a payout of nearly $83 million from the conference, a massive increase in distributions from before expansion.

But it's reportedly still not enough, as schools look to find ways to max out on the $20.5 million in direct payments they're allowed to send to student-athletes. For commissioner Tony Petitti, that means exploring unexpected partnerships.

Including private equity.

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INDIANAPOLIS - Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Petitti speaks to the media during Big Ten football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Big Ten Conference Leading The Way In Non-Traditional Investments

Petitti told The Athletic in July that he's exploring different options, based on how professional sports leagues operate.

"Our membership has made clear that modernizing how conference offices work and function on behalf of their members needs to change as we get into this next world," Petitti said. "We started this process more than a year ago to just evaluate the way we do everything. What things can we do that we see that the NBA does really well in the central office or MLB or the NFL? Some of the things they do we’ll never do because they don’t apply to college sports. That’s totally fine. But what can we do?

"Is there a strategic partner, a capital partner, that would help you get there faster, more efficiently, better, stronger? I’m not sure the answer to that yet, but the process of doing it is ongoing."

There are challenges to private equity investment in college sports, however, because state universities are publicly run.

"It may be impossible because you’re truly a public entity," said the athletic director of Ohio State, Ross Bjork. "We’re owned by the state of Ohio. So, there are lots of complications in terms of the infusion of this money. But I do think we have an obligation to look at creative ways (to generate revenue).

"At this point, there would be more questions than answers, and I think that’s why you probably have seen nobody do it yet at the institutional level."

But the very fact that a college football conference would be talking to private equity firms is a dramatic about-face from the pretense of "amateur" athletics. It also demonstrates how much money is generated by college football programs in 2025. Private equity doesn't invest unless there's a real chance of significant return. And while football has to subsidize other sports, it's a booming business. Ratings, interest, and the expanded playoff are all contributing.

"The revenue size of the Big Ten is enormous," Irwin Kishner, co-chair of the Sports Law Group with the Herrick Feinstein law firm, told The Athletic. "There are several other sides to it, including merchandising and streaming, potentially, or probably, the in-game experience, potential rights to ultimately restructure. There’s some definite opportunities in that space that could produce significant returns."

Sounds like it's only a matter of time until it's the "RedBird Capital Big Ten Conference." My how the times are a changing.