Nebraska's $215 million JMI Sports media rights deal is off the table
Nebraska's 12-year, $215 million media rights deal with JMI Sports is no longer on the table.
The University first announced the intentions of the deal earlier this month, and it was set to go for approval in front of the NU Board of Regents at their Apr. 8 meeting.
On Thursday, Husker Athletic Director Trev Alberts announced in a statement the deal is no longer.
“As previously acknowledged, Nebraska Athletics has been in negotiations with JMI Sports LLC for a long-term multi-media rights agreement," Alberts said in a statement. "We have been working closely with JMI’s leadership team on final details of the proposed contract. However, we were not able to come to an agreement on the final terms of the contract, so we have removed the proposal from the agenda of next week’s Board of Regents meeting.
"We don’t anticipate bringing any additional proposal from JMI forward but will continue to evaluate short- and long-term options for our multi-media rights. We will make a decision that is in the best long-term interest of Nebraska to ensure that Husker Athletics is positioned for success in a changing collegiate athletics landscape.”
In a statement to HuskerOnline, JMI Sports CEO Erik Judson did leave the door open that a deal could be figured out in the future still.
“After an accelerated negotiation period to complete a $200 million multimedia rights agreement, the University of Nebraska and JMI Sports were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement that delivered necessary assurances each party needed for the partnership to be successful," Judson said. "Given that we could not resolve all important contract language within the designated time frame, Nebraska Athletics has decided to suspend negotiations.
"Trev Alberts and his team are exceptional people who are true professionals that care deeply for the University of Nebraska. It was our great pleasure working closely with them to bring this partnership to fruition. The University of Nebraska is an incredible institution with a brand and athletic history in the top tier of college athletics. It is our hope that JMI Sports has a chance to reengage with Nebraska Athletics in the future.”
Judson had no comment on the sticking point, other than there was a "ton to complete is a very short period of time for a 12 year agreement."
He once again though made it clear they would like to hopefully work something out in the future with NU.
"JMI really loves Nebraska athletics and hopes to re-engage with them," Judson said.
This comes on the heels of Nebraska choosing to bring their media rights deal in-house for the 2021-22 sports year. That decision was made under the leadership of former Athletic Director Bill Moos.
The decision was largely made due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the sports world and the financial unknowns ahead.
Moos's options after the pandemic hit were to take the deal in-house or enter into a revenue-sharing deal with IMG-Learfield with no guarantees. Before the pandemic hit, Learfield-IMG College was looking to sign Nebraska to a deal that would have potentially given NU $20 million per year according to a source with knowledge of negotiations. JMI Sports was offering Nebraska $18 million per year in their deal.
In numbers released to HuskerOnline from the University, the in-house deal will generate a gross revenue of $15 million and a net after expenses of $11 million. Under NU's previous deal with Learfield-IMG College, Nebraska made $72 million over the final six years of the contract.