Greg McElroy: Oregon, Washington joining the Big Ten was a no-brainer

Greg McElroy believes Washington and Oregon’s decision to join the Big Ten was easy. Like many things, the decision seemingly came back to money.

“The average Big Ten payout is going to be north of $70 million per school,” McElroy said. “You’re getting Oregon and Washington for $30 million a year, roughly. And then that increases $1 million per year, up until the end of this original deal.

“Remember, this Big Ten deal lasts for seven seasons. On a 10-year average, the average distribution for both Oregon and Washington will be $50 million,” McElroy said. “This is going to work out great for them financially. It’s considerably better than what they would have gotten in the Pac-12.”

Oregon and Washington announced their intent to join the Big Ten last Friday after chatter throughout the week. This chatter was headlined by Pac-12 president George Kliavkoff’s proposal of a media deal with Apple, which would reportedly start at around $20 million per school.

Two schools for sale

The money obviously wasn’t enough. While the Big Ten will be paying Oregon and Washington more than the Pac-12 could, the two schools are still receiving significantly less than established conference members. In other words, the Big Ten secured two top-notch brands on sale.

“There’s nobody that is going to deny the strength of both Washington and Oregon’s brands,” McElroy said. “In 15 consecutive seasons from 2008 to 2022, Oregon’s produced one of the best [TV] ratings… Six or seven times in those 15, 16 seasons, they’re a top 10 program.

“Oregon has competed for national championships, played in multiple national championship games, has been a threat to get to the playoff on multiple different occasions, has had to endure a bunch of different coaching turnover, but it appears like things are heading in the right direction now with Dan Lanning, who’s locked up until 2029.”

The Ducks are certainly flying in the right direction. In his first season at the helm, Lanning led Oregon to a 10-3 record. The program was on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth until QB1 Bo Nix went down with an ankle injury against Washington. The Huskies won the game, and McElroy believes they’ll be boasting many more victories in the Big Ten.

“Washington, also the last Pac-12 team to make the College Football Playoff back in 2016. They have been a perennial fixture,” McElroy said. “They have ranked in the top eight, nine times; nine times in the last however many years, so it’s been quite a while since Washington has been a complete afterthought… It appears like Kalen DeBoer is going to do an amazing job with them, as well.”

In his first season leading the Huskies, Deboer captained UW to an 11-2 overall record, including a 3-0 mark against ranked teams. Although Oregon and Washington won’t join the Big Ten until August 2024, the conference has plenty to look forward to.