On Monday, Texas and Oklahoma plan to inform the Big 12 Conference that they’ll part ways with the league in 2025, according to a 247Sports report. The two programs are headed for the Southeastern Conference.

It’s a watershed move that would give more power to the increasingly dominant SEC and could spur another round of Power 5 conference realignment.

The move isn’t official, however: At least 11 of 14 current SEC schools would have to vote to approve realignment. 

The desire to join the SEC is likely financially motivated.

• In 2019-20, SEC schools received about $45 million each in conference distributions, according to tax filings.
• That’s between $5 million and $9 million more than Big 12 schools.
• The 14 original SEC schools are projected to make about $20 million more when the SEC’s new media rights deal kicks in in 2024.

But a potential realignment could come at a steep price, according to an analysis of Big 12 documents by Kennyhertz Perry sports attorney Mit Winter.

Oklahoma and Texas would have to pay an exit fee equaling the final two years of conference distributions — about $80 million for each school, based on the Big 12’s 2019-20 tax filings.

The two schools wouldn’t receive yearly Big 12 distributions between the time they announce the move and when they leave, either — a loss of anywhere between $40 million and $160 million.

The Big 12’s grant of rights stipulates that the conference would also retain broadcast rights to Texas and Oklahoma games until 2025.

Crown Resorts has lost its $9 billion merger proposal with Star Entertainment Group, per Bloomberg. 

Brisbane-based Star proposed an all-stock merger with Crown in May to create an Australian gaming and hospitality giant. 

Star, Crown’s closest rival, has withdrawn from merger talks after allegations of tax evasion, money-laundering, and a potential shutdown of Crown’s Australian casino empire. 

“Substantial benefits could be unlocked by a merger,” said the company. “However, the uncertainty surrounding Crown is such that Star is unable to continue at the present time.”  

Star’s opt-out adds to a contentious year for Crown.

• A judge ruled in February that Crown was ineligible to operate its $2.2 billion Sydney resort and casino after an investigation revealed money laundering. 
• Blackstone Group, which already owns 10% of the gaming operator, offered $6.2 billion for Crown in March. The offer was rejected for being too low. 
• Crown received a proposal from Oaktree Capital Group in June for $2.4 billion in funding to buy back the shares held by James Packer, its controlling shareholder with a 36% stake.

Shares of Crown fell as much as 4.4% on Friday in early trading. The stock has dropped around 24% from its recent peak in May.

The floodgates are open for college athlete sponsorship and licensing agreements, and the collectibles industry is gearing up to tap into a huge new market.

Panini America and OneTeam Partners are linking up on a deal that will catalyze Panini’s ability to produce trading cards for current college athletes. 

Panini said that college athletes will receive royalty rates for cards that are competitive with professional athletes.

OneTeam is a joint project of the NFL’s and MLB’s players associations with Redbird Capital Partners.

• The multiyear deal allows Panini to leverage OneTeam’s college licensing agreements, which includes partnerships with Opendorse and INFLCR.
• Opendorse and INFLCR say they each have over 40,000 college students on their platforms.
• Panini already works with over 200 universities, some through deals with Fanatics and Learfield, to produce college alumni cards. 

Panini took back the record for the most expensive card ever sold with a $5.9 million sale of a Steph Curry card earlier this month.

The Panini Group is in talks with Slam Corp., a SPAC led by Alex Rodriguez, on a merger that would value Panini at $3 billion.