Sports Business Journal: Report: Rose Bowl more than doubles TV revenue in latest ESPN deal

A lot of people were puzzled why the Big Ten clenched so tightly to the Rose Bowl while it hashed out its playoff plan earlier this summer.

One of the reasons, certainly, is the revenue that is generated from the game -- and on Monday, it became clearer just how much the game is worth.

Sports Business Journal reports that ESPN has agreed to pay an average of $80 million per year for TV rights to the Rose Bowl, a deal that runs from 2015-26. That's a 167-percent jump from the $30 million that ESPN currently pays, according to the report.

The Rose Bowl has reportedly inked a new TV deal with ESPN that is worth an average of $80 million annually.

The Associated Press

The Big Ten and Pac-12, the game's partners, keep all of that revenue in years it doesn't serve as host for a playoff game, according to SBJ. When it does host a playoff game, the revenue will be divvied among the FBS conferences.

That's an enormous pie to be split only two ways in most years, and helps explain why the Big Ten would put its own teams at a competitive disadvantage in the future playoff.

An interesting wrinkle is the deal runs concurrently with the new playoff system, which could open the door for ESPN to vie for rights to the new postseason. SBJ projects that deal could be worth as much as $600 million, considering the value of the Rose Bowl contract.