The Ohio State football program brings in more money than any other program in the Big Ten. That's a combination from donors, football revenue, and other sources. None of the other Big Ten schools come close to the amount of money the Ohio State Buckeyes bring in.
As a conference, the Big Ten is looking at ways to bring in more money to the conference as NIL deals have become an important part of the college sports landscape. In fact, they are looking to take a humongous step to not only do that, but secure their future as a conference.
According to ESPN's Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, the Big Ten Conference is looking to add some private capital money into the conference. It would be an investment of around $2 billion, which would extend the grant of rights, meaning that a Super League wouldn't be able to form in college football.
The Big Ten is exploring a mega deal to give Ohio State and other members more money
Under this proposed deal, the Big Ten would extend the grant of rights until 2046, meaning no Super League would form until after that. That would help keep college football in its current format, which would certainly appeal to fans. Still, there are things that need to be sorted.
According to the article, the Buckeyes and Wolverines are holding up the deal as they try to work through some things. It's assumed that they are looking for a larger share of that private equity money than others in the conference, considering they are the two biggest Big Ten brands.
It was inevitable that PE money would infiltrate college football, especially once NIL deals became legal. As long as the Big Ten is able to maintain full control of conference operations, which it looks like it will, then this move doesn't have a lot of downside.
At this point, it's unclear when the deal will be finalized. A decision on whether or not to do this is expected in the next few weeks. At that point, the Buckeyes will find out what is going to happen with this.