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Two College Football Programs Made $50 Million After Oregon's Rose Bowl Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Jan 6, 2025 7:30 AM ET

The No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks entered its quarterfinal College Football Playoff game at the Rose Bowl this past week as the last undefeated FBS team.

Unfortunately for them, they were blown out 41-21 by the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes. A loss that abruptly ended the program's magical season, and also marked yet another year of the Ducks coming up short of that elusive first title in football.

However, to add a bit more salt to Oregon's wound, a couple of former conference foes are receiving a big payday from the Rose Bowl. As revealed in a report by college football insider Jon Wilner of the Mercury News, both Oregon State and Washington State will pocket $50 million due to the prestigious bowl's contractual obligations with the Pac-12.

"In addition to the CFP payments, the Cougars and Beavers have sole access to the terms of the Rose Bowl’s agreement with the PAC-12, its longtime partner," wrote Wilner. "That deal remains in place for the next two seasons, to coincide with the CFP’s contract cycle.

"And it’s a whopper: The PAC-12 receives approximately $50 million annually as part of the agreement with the Granddaddy (of them all). The math: $50 million for two years is $100 million."

While being left behind as the only two teams in the Pac-12 certainly had to sting, $100 million certainly is a nice consolation prize for Oregon State and Washington State. The two programs have been through the wringer, to say the least, after the 10 other Pac-12 programs jumped for the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten.

Both have had star players poached away by the portal, and have each seen head coaches leave for greener pastures and more stability.

As for the future of the Pac-12, the conference added Fresno State, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Gonzaga. The former Power 5 conference is one more football program away from retaining its FBS status, a task they'll need to complete by July of 2026.

Despite the future moves that still need to be made for the Pac-12, Oregon State and Washington State can invest the money into their programs in a big way.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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