What ESPN's exclusive CFP deal means for college football's future

We correctly predicted here months ago ESPN would be the exclusive winner of the expanded College Football Playoff’s television rights. That’s old news as the parties announced this week a $1.7 billion five-year deal. What nobody is reporting is this was a fait accompli! When ESPN’s exclusive time to negotiate had ended, the two simply extended the time period to arrive at the deal. You think the CFP could have negotiated a larger contract with one of the networks if they had simply opened up the bidding? I do. But we’ll never know because as they say, “the fix was in”. How do I know that? Let’s examine the facts.

First, as stated, the parties did not have an agreement when ESPN’s exclusive negotiation had lapsed. Yet they signed that extension rather than open up the bidding. What seller does that? One who is not interested in maximizing their profits. Think about it; what’s the downside in seeing what else is out there as ultimately this became a “no bid contract,” a no-no in the public sector. Second, take a look at the current state of college football.  Every major network, ESPN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and their subsidiaries are all in on the college football bonanza. Heck, even CW has games each week. As Michael Corleone (Al Pacino, Godfather II) once said, "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer,” and that’s exactly what the World Wide Leader has done. They've created their own monopoly by including their competitors in the overall “scheme.” At the same time, the CFP and the Power Four conferences (specifically the SEC and Big Ten) have sacrificed the importance of the regular season and eliminated conference championship games. What an egregious misuse of power. 

Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said what everyone is thinking.  “The decisions we’ve made in college football over the past six years … (have) devalued some of the things that made college football so special. Bowl games.. building a program. There’s none of that because you don’t know who’s going to be back.” He went further, “Why are we associated with conferences anymore if we’re not playing for a conference championship? If the point being is just to be playing into a seat of 24, are we just doing it for scheduling affiliation”? Amen.

Which brings us to fact number three – pure unadulterated greed.  As Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) said to his agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) in the movie "Jerry Maguire," “Show me the money!” One day the people who made these decisions will look back and ask “how did we screw up such a good thing.” Unfortunately, buyers’ remorse is not an option.

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Philip Rivers to coach NC State

NC State will hire Philip Rivers, the greatest Wolfpack quarterback in history, as its new head coach. Rivers, who played 17 seasons in the NFL, married his high school sweetheart, has 10 children, is a devout Catholic and is involved in philanthropic causes.  He often speaks about the three Fs – faith family and football.  Rivers checks all the character boxes but he has only been a head coach at the high school level the past six years. Remember Gerry Faust being hired at Notre Dame? How’d that turn out? This is like Shaq coaching LSU. Forgeddaboudit! Or Patrick Ewing at Georgetown. Wait — that actually happened and how’d that turn out? Rivers' son Gunner is a four-star 2027 recruit who’s committed to NC State so there is a back story to this. He’s also overcome the challenges of being a Type I diabetic, which is an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. I know because I have two children with Type I diabetes who have faced the same daily challenges and health risks for most of their lives. So although I don’t like the hire, I love the story and will be openly rooting for Rivers and his son’s future success.

Is 'student-athlete' even accurate?

The NCAA released a research study which showed the more a player transfers, the greater the percentage the student-athlete would not graduate. Really? Who needs a study to figure that out? Save the money and call me for the answer. Many athletes who transfer don’t even attend class. Who could forget last year when Miami Hurricane transfer quarterback Carson Beck acknowledged he didn’t go to class because he had an undergraduate degree at Georgia two years earlier. Still, he was reportedly able to collect $6 million in NIL money by registering as a Miami graduate student for the semester. Is the NCAA going to do anything about it? I won’t hold my breath.

My Top 25 picks

No. 6 Texas (7-2) at No. 21 LSU (6-3) +3: Saturday night in Death Valley! The Tigers CFP hopes are still alive if they win out with No. 8 Tennessee next week and Arkansas left. I know they lost last week at home against rival Alabama (31-13) but that was an afternoon game which will make a difference here. Even though the Tigers had superior statistics, coach Lane Kiffin was 0-4 on fourth downs, culminating in the loss. Maybe playing field position instead of analytics this week would be a good idea?

The Longhorns, coming off a nice 34-20 win at Missouri, still haven’t played an “A” game. They have injuries on both sides of the ball but their Achilles heel is they put the ball on the carpet. With a frenzied atmosphere, expect the unexpected.  Which Arch Manning shows up? This game, with so much importance to each team, would lack much significance if played under the new format next year. Fortunately for me, that’s not the case and we’ll make the trek to Baton Rouge to see it live. Turnovers will be the most important statistic.  Expect the unexpected. Geaux Tigers! LSU rolls.

No. 22 USC +10 at No. 9 Indiana (8-1): Both teams had byes last week with the Trojans looking good at home, winning 30-18 against a undermanned Ohio State team (starting quarterback Julian Sayin was out). Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava has thrown for over 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns but when he’s pressured, he’s performed poorly. The Hoosier defense, ranked No. 5 in the country is fast, physical and athletic yielding just 12 points p/game. Whether quarterback Josh Hoover even plays is a question. Either way, USC’s defense allows 24 points p/game and they’re soft.  USC coach Lincoln Riley may not be playing for his job but the Trojans are playing for their season. Whether it’s the change in time zone or the change in venue, USC has played undisciplined, uninspiring and unrecognizable football on the road. Expect it to continue as Riley struggles again with Big Ten “smash in the mouth” football. Don’t let that OSU victory go to your head. The Trojans are just different on the road. The points are too high to lay but Indiana coach Curt Cignetti finds a way to win another close game.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What ESPN's exclusive CFP deal means for college football's future

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