The Ohio State Buckeyes, led by the Ohio State University president Ted Carter, are making it clear the Big Ten isn't paying out an appropriate piece of the pie to OSU from a revenue-sharing perspective.
USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer believes Ohio State can kill the Big Ten singlehandedly by eventually wanting too big a share. The accusation runs deep enough that Toppmeyer believes the program only has apathy for football programs like the Purdue Boilermakers, Minnesota Golden Gophers, and Rutgers Scarlet Knights -- and by extension, similar bottom-spending NIL players in the conference like the Maryland Terrapins and UCLA Bruins.
"So, you could see how Ohio State’s thinking might jump to: When Ohio State plays a smaller brand like Purdue, why shouldn’t the Buckeyes receive a higher media-rights payout from that game than Purdue?" Toppmeyer asked.
"If you’re wondering how unequal revenue sharing would be good for Purdue (or Minnesota, Rutgers, or any of the conference’s other smaller brands), well, it wouldn’t be.
"But, do you think Ohio State cares about playing nice with the Big Ten’s underbelly? Not when there’s another dollar to be made and another championship to be bought."
It all leads to the idea that the Buckeyes will prioritize their own financial well-being over the bottom-feeders who haven't put a competitive enough product on the field to stay afloat on a national scale.
OSU is, essentially, operating in the same vein as any human being participating in society. Most of the conference's cellar dwellers are B1G newcomers, so the conference loyalty card doesn't go far here.
If Ohio State is moving in the direction of having more high-stakes thrillers like their Week 1 win over the Texas Longhorns, that's probably good for the sport overall.
Because once you go down the slope of worrying about Purdue, Rutgers, and Minnesota, you eventually end up justifying one-sided 70-0 beatdowns like the one the Buckeyes just gave the Grambling State Tigers.
The quest for a more competitive sport and better television product will have tough cuts.
ADs across the country, now is the time to make your team too relevant to be left out of any college football super league.