The Big Ten is reportedly losing its commissioner to an NFL team.
Reports surfaced on Dec. 29 that Warren was a finalist for the Bears’ CEO and president position and had interviewed with the franchise multiple times, including an in-person interview. Since that news broke, the Big Ten “has made no tangible push to keep” Warren, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Warren is reportedly not popular among the conference’s athletic directors and there had been no talks of extending his contract. Those factors may have pushed Warren to seek opportunities back in the pro ranks.
Some of the goodwill Warren had accumulated by leading the Big Ten through the additions of USC and UCLA and the record-setting television deal has been squandered. His pushes to keep expanding went against the wishes of the league's most powerful universities and stakeholders, and his public statements about expansion were viewed internally as clumsy and tone-deaf.
The conference is entering a new era as it expands across the country with its new West Coast members officially coming on board in 2024. The new media rights deal — which includes Fox, CBS and NBC — begins on July 1 and runs through the 2029-30 football season, making it a seven-year deal in all.
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