The Sooners are doing just fine. They're the back-to-back-to-back-to-back Big 12 Champions and are headed to their second straight College Football Playoff and third in the past four seasons. They're making upwards of $40 million per year.

But might they and Red River Rival Texas be headed to the Big Ten Conference in the not-so-distant future? That could be the case, according to one report by Minnesota insider Greg Flugaur, who obtained information from a B1G source named BTM.

For some background, Flugaur notes that FOX Sports (21st Century FOX) owns 51 percent of the Big Ten Network and holds 50 percent of the Big Ten’s Tier 1 & 2 Contract from 2017-2022, as well as the league’s conference championship game. The lucrative contract to BTN for those Tier 1 & 2 rights, the CCG and basketball has turned into content and ratings from the league that have left FOX Sports “overjoyed” over these first couple years since structuring it.

TV ad rates FOX Sports have been able to pass on to its customers indicate the network is “all in” on Big Ten Live Sport Content now and in the future, BTM told Flugaur. Given that, both FOX Sports and the Big Ten Conference want more and are working in tandem to get it. The two believe there is ample opportunity to gain more content for the next media contract in order for both to succeed together. That’s where realignment begins and comes into play once again, with those two working in tandem in their attempt to gain more value for the league, the source said.

They’ll try to gain more said value by adding both Big 12 powers OU and Texas. They’ll target the two schools for addition in 2024-25.

This source lays out three different forms called “choke points” that help successfully deliver live content. These three are financing, content and distribution. Distribution is the one to focus on, as the Big 12 Conference will, in his words, have an issue there involving Tier 1 & 2 rights. The money gap is expected to widen between the Big 12 and the SEC and Big Ten.

So, the Big Ten, along with FOX Sports, plans to let OU know what their intentions are through third parties. They will coordinate this at the same time OU is negotiating its new third tier contract, with the Big Ten emphasizing what’s at stake there and to make it a short-term deal, BTM said.

A short-term deal, obviously, means something could be in motion. Keep in mind the Big 12 Grant of Rights is up on June 30, 2025, so, as Flugaur notes, if OU signs something new that expires by or before then, the wheels just may be turning. The main thing to keep in mind here is OU is the school to watch.

Which brings us to Texas. The Longhorn Network has long been prohibitive and a deal breaker when it comes to expansion, but no longer, BTM tells Flugaur. He stresses LHN’s contract is not ironclad like the Big 12 GOR and notes it’s actually a losing proposition to owner Disney, as well as a problem in terms of exposure for Texas. According to BTM, LHN is but a twig in the road, not a log at this point.

One more point is this: The end date makes a lot of sense in terms of when the Big Ten could be aggressive in pursuing expansion if it, indeed, does come to fruition. When the league last negotiated its TV contract, it constructed it to end in 2022, as opposed to a later date, and in so doing gave itself time to act with about three years in between then and the date the Big 12’s GOR expires.

In terms of alignment, the Big Ten, along with the ACC, will push for reform that would allow for one big conference, no divisions, and the ability to eliminate round-robin play, the source told Flugaur. Currently, as is the case with the Big 12, conferences with only one division have to play round-robin schedules, and while Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney and the rest of league brass publicly support divisions, Flugaur indicates that’s not the case behind closed doors. The opposite would actually allow for an increase in value to television and media and an easier expanding value.

Whether or not OU or Texas stay put or go to the Big Ten or elsewhere remains up in the air. But the Big Ten is reportedly targeting them both.