Lincoln-The future of the University of Nebraska’s media rights remains up in the air. It was assumed earlier this spring that Nebraska would be moving its rights to JMI Sports LLC. NU confirmed that it had an agreement in hand with JMI Sports to enter into a 12 year agreement on July 1st. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but sources said it was a 12-year agreement worth up to $215 million overall, nearly $18 million per year. Final negotiations however hit a snag and Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts put out this statement Thursday morning.
“As previously acknowledged, Nebraska Athletics has been in negotiations with JMI Sports LLC for a long-term multi-media rights agreement. We have been working closely with JMI’s leadership team on final details of the proposed contract. However, we were not able to come to an agreement on the final terms of the contract, so we have removed the proposal from the agenda of next week’s Board of Regents meeting. We don’t anticipate bringing any additional proposal from JMI forward but will continue to evaluate short- and long-term options for our multi-media rights. We will make a decision that is in the best long-term interest of Nebraska to ensure that Husker Athletics is positioned for success in a changing collegiate athletics landscape.” This past year Nebraska took those operations in house after Learfield/IMG Communications held the Nebraska media rights for many years.
