The Athletic is reporting that ESPN is now willing to pay the SEC more to add a 9th conference game. Reported to be 50-80 million more per year - so 3 to 5 million per team to make up for losing a home game every other year.
I really like the idea of having three standing rivals and divide the other twelve teams into two groups and play them every other year. So every team plays the other every other year and every team visits each school at least every 4 years. I hope this is the plan starting in 2026.