Should an early exit by Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 be agreed upon, the negotiated financial penalties associated with those departures would be utilized to aid the conference's expansion. Those monies would help make whole the eight legacy Big 12 programs whose media rights payouts are being diluted to help fund the arrival of the league's four newest members.

Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia agreed to share a portion of their media rights distributions from the Big 12's existing deals with Fox and ESPN to make possible the league's recent expansion with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining the fold in the 2023-24 athletic season. The vote (believed to be held last year) was 8-0 in favor of the move with Texas and Oklahoma abstaining, multiple sources tell CBS Sports.

Each of the eight legacy Big 12 schools agreed to forego $16 million total ($8 million annually in 2023-24 and 2024-25), approximately 19% of their $42.6 million annual distributions, sources said. Each of the four new Big 12 members are set to receive $18 million to $19 million annually, approximately 40% of the original annual distribution.

BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will each receive a full share of media rights revenue when the Big 12 begins its new deals in the fall of 2025, a source added. That full share will be a base figure of $31.6 million annually. Big 12 officials believe the all-in figure will approach $50 million per school once NCAA Tournament and College Football Playoff revenue is added.

If Texas and Oklahoma leave after the 2023-24 season, they would be on the hook for early termination fees with each surrendering at least their final year of media rights distribution. CBS Sports previously reported those early exit fees could total as much as $168 million.

However, such a penalty would likely be negotiated down to about 60% to 65% of the original total, industry sources said. That final figure would go a long way to helping the remaining legacy Big 12 programs recoup the $16 million dilutions they agreed upon.

"That money [for the four new schools] has to come from some place so the other members have to take a dilution as a result of it," former Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told CBS Sports.