NORMAN — OU will pay Maine $635,000 for Saturday’s game against the Black Bears, according to the contract between the schools.
The Sooners will take on Maine beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
The contract, which was obtained by The Oklahoman via a Freedom of Information Act request, was signed in July 2023.
The contract calls for OU to provide Maine up to 4,000 tickets, with any unsold tickets having been set to be returned to OU on July 1. Of those tickets, 400 were provided complimentary while the other 3,600 were available for purchase at full price.
Maine is an FCS program.
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Looking at future OU football schedules
An SEC officiating crew will work Saturday’s game, which is the last of four non-conference games for the Sooners.
OU’s season opener against Temple was part of a three-game contract with two games in Norman and one, scheduled for next season, in Philadelphia.
The first two games will see the visitor paid $500,000 while OU will pay Temple $1 million for the 2028 game in Norman.
That contract was agreed to in 2016.
The Sept. 7 game against Houston was the first of a home-and-home agreement between the schools. OU will play at Houston’s TDECU Stadium in 2028.
The home team will pay the visiting team $400,000 for each of those contests.
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The OU-Houston contract was also signed in July 2023.
The Sooners’ other non-conference game was the final in a three-game deal between OU and Tulane.
The teams also met in 2017 and 2021. The 2021 game was originally scheduled for New Orleans, but Hurricane Ida necessitated the game be moved to Norman.
That contract called for OU to pay Tulane $1.2 million, Tulane to pay OU $350,000 for the second game and OU to pay Tulane $380,000 for the final game. The deal was signed in 2015.
Because of the 2021 move, Tulane did not pay OU for the game, but instead OU provided Tulane the proceeds for all tickets sold, minus operational expenses.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How much is OU football paying Maine for Week 10 game in Norman?
