Nebraska Athletics are heading back to the drawing board for their multi-media rights for next school year.
NU athletic director Trev Alberts had previously confirmed that the University had selected JMI Sports to take over the MMR rights after a single year of running the Huskers Radio Network in-house. That deal was reportedly worth a guaranteed $200 million over 12 years.
Thursday morning, Alberts announced that Nebraska and JMI Sports would not be moving forward together.
“We have been working closely with JMI’s leadership team on final details of the proposed contract,” Alberts said. “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”
JMI CEO Erik Judson issued a statement Thursday afternoon.
“After an accelerated negotiation period to complete a $215 million multimedia rights agreement with a $200 million guarantee, the University of Nebraska and JMI Sports were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement that delivered necessary assurances each party needed for the partnership to be successful. Given that we could not resolve all important contract language within the designated time frame, Nebraska Athletics has decided to end the negotiations. Trev Alberts and his team are exceptional people who are true professionals that care deeply for the University of Nebraska. It was our great pleasure working closely with them to bring this partnership to fruition. The University of Nebraska is an incredible institution with a brand and athletic history in the top tier of college athletics. It is our hope that JMI Sports has a chance to reengage with Nebraska Athletics in the future.”
Nebraska had been with Learfield IMG College for 15 years before taking the MMR rights in-house for this school year.