(09-14-2021 04:50 AM)goofus Wrote: Lame Duck status is not ideal, but to describe it as horrible is a bit of a stretch. Nobody develops PTSD from having to spend an extra year or 2 in an old conference. If the money does not make sense to move early, schools will stick it out.
I hear different things regarding Tex and Ok buyouts of the GOR. Would it be $80M total per team to leave by 2022, or would it be $80M per year per school?
According to the bylaws, the Big 12 buyout is 2 years of league revenue distributions, about $80M.
But by another reading of the bylaws, once you announce your withdrawal, you stop getting revenue distributions. This was clearly designed as a way to enforce the $80M or so exit fee, but the way it's written, Oklahoma and Texas don't get another dime.
And, of course, there's the Grant of Rights, which has no early-exit clauses at all. As written, the Big 12 just owns UT and OU's TV rights until 2025, in return for Valuable Considerations which have never been clear to me but I am assured by smart people will (probably) stand up in court.
So there are a couple of interrelated questions:
Q: How big is the buyout to leave the Big 12?
A: $80M minimum.
Q: Can UT and OU work a deal to leave early? How much would it cost?
A: Possibly.
Q: Will the Grant of Rights hold up?
A: Frank The TAnk is a lawyer, he says yes. Clay Travis is (was?) a lawyer, says no.
One possible agreement for UT and OU to leave early is for UT and OU to agree to not challenge the GOR, leaving their home games under the Big 12 contract.
My guess is that UT and OU agree to STAY in the Big 12 until 2025, and in return the Big 12 agrees to structure their exit fee by withholding half and paying half of the UT/OU distributions for the 4 lame duck years.