Listen to KSR's live reaction to UK's new deal with JMI Sports

Kentucky Sports Radio’s morning show was live on air when news broke of UK Athletics’ multimedia rights deal with JMI Sports, which was extended through the year 2040. Matt Jones and the crew were talking about Tyrese Maxey’s canopener and the infamous Zainesville animal escape when Wah-nee-naw-naw interrupted the conversation, a signal for breaking news.

The news was the $465 million deal announced by UK and JMI on Tuesday morning, and with it, a new model that hands over UK Athletics’ NIL operation to JMI. KSR reacted to the deal and its implications in real-time, expressing concerns over all NIL negotiations moving in-house, especially coming off a spring when the former model built one of college basketball’s best rosters for the upcoming season.

KSR didn’t shy away from all of its own issues with JMI over the years, of which there are many. If you missed the on-air conversation, catch a replay of the moment when the show moved from the most ridiculous manner possible to questions about significant changes to operations around your beloved Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky Extends Partnership with JMI Sports Through 2040

Mitch Barnhart on UK/JMI Sports Multimedia Rights Deal Extension

Over in KSR’s news story from the press conference, Mitch Barnhart stressed the importance of stability in the 15-year extension. “I think in a landscape that is really crazy, partnerships and names change and move all over the place as fast as the transfer portal. We’ve had a partner we celebrated 10 years with last year… This gives us stability. If you look forward, it gives you a plan, a purpose, and an opportunity to say it’s our pathway.”

You can hear Barnhart’s version of the partnership below. He doesn’t have the same worries as KSR, obviously.