Michigan is reportedly weighing the once-unthinkable option of leaving the Big Ten Conference when the league’s current media rights deal expires in 2036.
The rapidly shifting college football landscape has altered many things and Michigan has emerged as a vocal skeptic of the Big Ten’s proposed $2.4 billion media-rights equity sale. It's a plan that would extend the conference’s financial structure through 2046.
While Michigan and Ohio State would receive the largest cuts of the payout, which is reportedly around $190 million each, the Wolverines are dissatisfied with both the proposal and the process surrounding it. And the process of moving forward is starting a decade before it happens.
University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker said on SiriusXM’s College Sports Today that the school is “considering all options,” including possible football independence.
“The possibility of independence for football is something that has to be considered,” Acker said, adding that Michigan would prefer to remain in the Big Ten but is unwilling to be marginalized. He also noted that the conference’s indication it could proceed without them “would be the end of Michigan, as far as I can see, in the Big Ten Conference.”
Michigan regent @JordanAckerMI to us on @SXMCollege College Sports Today: "The possibility of independence for football is certainly something that has to be considered. Not today, but at the end of the Grant of Rights (in 2036)." Pic.twitter.com/0LPgWoKJL9
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 17, 2025
Michigan’s concerns come as the Big Ten has moved to 18 teams. This raising questions about governance, revenue sharing, long-term competitive balance, and pulling a majority of the weight without receiving a fair payout.
With recent additions stretching the entire West Coast, critics argue the league has expanded beyond a sustainable footprint. The coast-to-coast model has been taxing on teams in both directions.
Should Michigan break away, the move would send shockwaves throughout college athletics. One of the Big Ten’s six remaining original members, the Wolverines could potentially command a massive independent media rights deal. This would be similar to Notre Dame’s long-standing model and give Michigan the ability to have a better strength of schedule.
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