Tuberville suggests billionaires buying college programs would be worse than an NFL-style TV deal

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., talks media rights deals in an appearance on OutKick's "Hot Mic."

Could the NFL's current media rights model, which may add even more players with a new deal expected at some point this year, make its way into college sports? 

As both deals currently stand, the NFL has a unified structure, where it splits revenue evenly across its 32 teams. Meanwhile, college football is fragmented, with conferences such as the SEC and Big Ten seeing more lucrative deals compared to others because of its teams' popularity and bigger budgets. 

There has been debate about unifying the conferences to negotiate a single TV rights deal, but while some are for it to disperse money and help every school be competitive against the powerhouse programs, others view it as a complicated problem without a simple solution. 

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Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) reacts with the trophy after the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

Making an appearance on OutKick's "Hot Mic," Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., was asked his thoughts about the NFL's potential problem as it looks to renegotiate its media rights, where streaming platforms could make fans pay more to consume the sport. 

Tuberville explained why he'd rather that than a different future that has been suggested by some in college sports.

"Antitrust stepped in for the NFL back in the early ‘60s," Tuberville said, referencing the 1966 AFL-NFL merger, which came after Congress allowed an antitrust exemption to combine TV deals. "Basically, the AFL and NFL got together with the federal government