Story perspectives

SEC Mulls NCAA Breakaway, $100M Championship Deal Secured

5/27/2026

Summary

SEC Mulls Playoff

Kirby Smart said the SEC could leave the NCAA and run its own playoff if a rule agreement fails.
The SEC championship game could earn $100 million yearly under its ESPN deal through 2034.
The v. NCAA settlement caps schools’ revenue sharing at $20.5 million for 2025-26, prompting breakaway talks.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the league stays committed to its championship game despite CFP talks.

Summary

Morehead Votes

University of Georgia president Jere Morehead said he will vote on an SEC mechanism and rules at spring meetings.
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said unenforced rules make sports ineffective, compared them to the NFL salary cap, and called for a commissioner to ensure enforcement.
The Congressional Black Caucus opposed the SCORE Act, saying it benefits athletic institutions while Black voting rights and power are being dismantled in the South.

Summary

Smart Warns NIL

Kirby Smart warned unchecked NIL spending threatens Olympic-level sports because inflated football budgets endanger non-revenue programs.
Mike Elko projected NIL budgets could outpace Texas A&M’s TV revenue within about 2½ years if spending rises another 20% twice, noting top-tier football now spends over $40 million annually on NIL.
Bloomberg reported that more than 40 Division I sports have already been cut as schools grapple with soaring NIL costs.

History

Historical Context

After the 1984 Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Board of Regents, which ended the NCAA’s monopoly on football TV rights, schools could sell their own contracts, generating revenues such as the $73.6 million the NCAA would have earned that season. Decades later the SEC’s lucrative media deals and rising NIL budgets have revived antitrust worries, prompting calls for a conference breakaway.

1 of 4

SEC Mulls Playoff

Kirby Smart said the SEC could leave the NCAA and run its own playoff if a rule agreement fails.
The SEC championship game could earn $100 million yearly under its ESPN deal through 2034.
The v. NCAA settlement caps schools’ revenue sharing at $20.5 million for 2025-26, prompting breakaway talks.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the league stays committed to its championship game despite CFP talks.

1 / 4