Washington Huskies announce new multimedia rights deal. Here’s why it matters.

Washington athletics has locked in a key income stream as revenue sharing lurks in the near future. 

UW announced a new long-term multimedia rights (MMR) deal with Learfield on Tuesday. The new contract will tie Washington to Learfield for the next 12 years through the 2037 financial year, UW spokesperson Kurt Svoboda said. Financial details of UW’s new agreement with Learfield were not made available.

This is not a renewal of Washington’s current contract with Learfield, which began in 2012 and was extended for a 12-year term in 2013. The deal is a new agreement and will begin upon the expiration of UW’s current contract with Learfield in June.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Learfield for another decade,” Pat Chun, UW’s athletic director, said in a news release. “We look forward to the opportunities to partner and collaborate with Learfield to enhance the Husky fan experience, foster innovation and advance our shared business goals and advance our shared business goals in an ever-evolving college athletics landscape.”

So what is an MMR deal? Essentially, it’s related to a school’s sponsorship rights, which can include radio rights, promotional events, licensing and signage among other potential advertising opportunities. It is not related to television broadcast distributions from the NCAA or the conference. 

Washington, like many major college athletic departments, has utilized a third-party company to help pursue sponsorship opportunities. UW’s partnership with Learfield dates back to 2006, when it signed a 10-year contract worth $46.75 million, Svoboda said. The original contract featured a revenue-sharing model between Washington and Learfield, with UW receiving 75% of the net revenue generated but Learfield keeping all the gross revenue beyond specified benchmarks. 

UW signed an amendment with Learfield before the 2013-14 academic year, and extended the agreement through 2025. The amendment got rid of the revenue-sharing model in favor of a guaranteed-revenue model, and was worth $81.1 million, or roughly $6.7 million per year. 

Washington’s new deal with Learfield, Svoboda said, retains the guaranteed-revenue model for net revenue, but now grants UW a share of the gross revenue which previously went only to Learfield. The Huskies will also have access to some of Learfield’s NIL management resources, along with data and technology assets.

“We are incredibly proud to extend our long-term partnership with Washington, one of the marquee programs in college athletics,” Kim Damron, Learfield’s president sports properties, said in a news release. “We are committed to delivering Pat Chun and his team excellence in revenue generation and innovative fan engagement solutions. Our best-in-class services, resources, and support perfectly match Washington’s current and future needs including delivering high-value local and national partner programs activated by Huskies Sports Properties.”

UW’s pursuit of a new MMR deal was a long process. Deputy athletic director and chief operating officer Erin O’Connell told The Times in March that the athletic department had explored the open market and was in the final stages of negotiating a contract. She also called UW’s previous agreement with Learfield “old and antiquated.”

Locking in the new MMR agreement with Learfield was an important step for Washington, particularly as it braces for impending student-athlete revenue sharing. Power conference athletic departments are expected to operate under a $20.5 million cap in 2025-26 once final approval for the House settlement is finalized, adding another expense to Washington’s challenging financial situation after its budget shortfall during the 2024 financial year.

UW’s next step likely includes negotiating new naming-rights deals for Husky Stadium and Alaska Airlines Arena, with the current deals set to expire in 2026.