Matt Norlander is on the Vegas Strip and bouncing back and forth between the two arenas hosting this year’s Players Era Championship. He’ll be providing frequent updates and insider information throughout each day of the event, so check back in regularly. This is his Monday notebook.
LAS VEGAS — The Big 12 is getting into the equity space. But by investment, not loan.
The conference, Players Era and EverWonder Studio jointly announced Monday a partnership that will guarantee eight of the league’s 16 teams inclusion in the Players Era Championship over the next five years.
The 18-team event that is paying out millions to schools and players will increase to a 32-team field in 2026 and beyond, Players Era organizers told CBS Sports. The expansion plan and the economics of how Players Era is pulling off something unprecedented has prompted a lot of reaction around college basketball.
In exchange for at least 25% representation in Players Era, the Big 12 hopes to earn back big money on its commitment.
“Over the next six years, Players Era will commit no less than $50 million dollars to Big 12 basketball programs in rights fees,” Players Era co-founder Seth Berger said.
The league is represented in the 2025 field by Baylor, Houston, Iowa State and Kansas. The informal arrangement is to send the top eight teams in the Big 12 standings at the end of each season into the ensuing season’s Players Era event, though that will not be a hard-and-fast rule. For example, Arizona will likely be a top-eight team in the Big 12 this season, but the Wildcats are scheduled to play in the 2026 Maui Invitational.
“If a school has prior commitments, we’re never going to hurt a school, but ultimately, in the long-term the vast majority of [the top eight] Big 12 schools will play every year,” Players Era co-founder Ian Orefice told CBS Sports.
The Big 12 could potentially end up with more than eight of the 32 spots, as Kansas, Baylor, Houston and Iowa State all have deals with Players Era into the end of the decade, Berger told CBS Sports, with Kansas’ being the longest at six years and Houston’s being a “lifetime” agreement so long as Kelvin and/or Kellen Sampson are coaching the Cougars.
“The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to grow its partnership with Players Era,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “The tournament is a tremendous platform to showcase our conference, student-athletes and coaches as the best in college basketball, and we look forward to continuing to make Players Era a national marquee event.”
“You think about, if you’re anchoring Players Era with the eight best Big 12 teams every year, it is already the best event in the country,” Orefice said. “With the commitments we’ve received now from the Big 12 and best teams in the country, we believe we are where we need to be to make sure Players Era is around for the long-term. We want all of the best teams, so we are actively talking to a few of the other select schools to figure out where we land in 2026 and beyond.”
In addition to the 18 teams playing in this year’s event, other teams that recently agreed to join Players Era include Louisville, Florida, Virginia, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M. Should all 18 schools playing in 2025 return for 2026, that means 24 of the 32 spots for next year are accounted for — and deep discussions with a few more schools trying to secure spots in the weeks to come.
Players Era has been under consistent scrutiny from competitors over its claims that it’s a sustainable long-term model. The event will pay out more than $20 million to schools this year and has received major sponsorships from Geico, MGM Resorts, Publicis Groupe, Lilly, Sam’s Club and more.
“The 2025 men’s tournament itself is profitable,” Orefice said. “We are incredibly proud to have made the financial commitment to schools.”
Other high-major leagues were approached by Players Era about multi-year deals that would ensure representation in the event, per sources, but the Big 12 was the only conference willing to make the commitment. Monday’s announcement is the next step in what organizers see as a huge evolution of what’s now overtaken the Maui Invitational as the most prominent nonconference regular-season event in college hoops.
Berger and Orefice told CBS Sports they hope to secure a four-year media rights deal by the end of December. They have had discussions with “four premium distributors.” Players Era is currently a property under Warner Bros. Discovery, with the games airing on TNT and truTV.
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Matt Norlander
“I think we’re really close to getting this done. And when it’s done, I think the number of teams that want to fill these last remaining spots is going to be many,” Berger said. “I feel like this is an opportunity to have a global impact for thousands of college basketball players.”
The 2026 Players Era will include four eight-team pools. The Big 12 will get at least two teams per pool, with the expectation that Big 12 schools will not play each other in the group stage. The tournament will play out over approximately three weeks in November 2026, with 16 teams one week, 16 more the next, then the four champions of each group playing as the “Four Kings” in a final stage, with all four of those schools earning prize money that will total approximately $1 million. The winners will be determined by record, head-to-head, margin of victory (with a cap, as to not run up the score) and points per game allowed as tiebreakers.
“There were many people who challenged the premise that early season college basketball can bring meaningful revenue for the event organizer and for the broadcast networks. Typically that’s been left to broad season packages, conference championships and March Madness,” Orefice said. “If Players Era is even 10% of March Madness, it is a runaway financial success for the players, the schools and everyone involved.”
