Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) goes in for a sack on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) during the second half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN Trying to Tempt SEC into Nine-Game Schedule? Momentum Building Toward Change

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Harrison Reno | Last updated May 9, 2025 9:56 AM ET

Change is inevitable they say in life, and even in the world of college football. Just in the last decade, we've seen the birth of the College Football Playoff, the transfer portal, NIL, and most recently, conference realignment and playoff expansion. So what could be next?

Well, according to a recent report from The Athletic's Seth Emerson, a nine-game conference schedule for the Southeastern Conference could be the next evolution. This change has been a rumored one since the announcement of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners joining the SEC.

Yet, despite the Longhorns and Sooners now entering their second football season in the conference, the change has yet to come. But that could soon be changing as The Athletic reports that ESPN is now trying to tempt the SEC into adding a ninth game.

"There is no formal offer yet, those sources added, and the exact amount of the increase still needs to be fully negotiated," Emerson writes. "But the sources said the additional money would likely be in the range of $50-80 million annually on top of the current deal, in which ESPN pays the conference $811 million per year to broadcast its sporting events."

While the wait will continue to see if the SEC does inevitably adopt the nine-game schedule that other conferences have been using, this does seem like another step in that direction. If the conference does indeed make that change then a nine-game conference schedule could come as early as the 2026 season.

When Texas and Oklahoma joined, the conference decided to stick with its eight-game format for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Now, with the 2026 conference schedule not even released yet, a vote on whether to move to a nine-game schedule may be coming.

But a decision will likely not come until after the future of the College Football Playoff is decided. That being whether or not the field will expand again following this coming season. If the field does expand from 12 to 14 or even the rumored 16 teams, then the SEC could very well use their move to a nine-game schedule as leverage to get what they want.

Nevertheless, with the rapid change that college football has endured in recent years, one thing is sure: more change is coming.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: