Commissioner Warren: 'I could see' Big Ten expanding to 20 teams, paying athletes

Amid the growing financial success of college athletics, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said he could envision the conference expanding to 20 teams and paying its student-athletes.

"I could see perpetual and future growth," Warren during an appearance on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," courtesy of Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News.

Warren added he's planning to have an "honest dialogue" with student-athletes about payment.

"Those are the things that we have to resolve. We have to," he said. "So I want to be part of this conversation and will be part of this conversation of what we can do to make this better."

The Big Ten, which currently fields 14 teams, is set to add USC and UCLA in 2024. The two departing Pac-12 schools will receive a full share of conference revenue upon their arrival.

On July 26, Warren said the Big Ten is open to further expansion, though it'd have to be "for the right reasons, at the right time."

The Big Ten struck lucrative seven-year media rights contracts with Fox, CBS, and NBC on Wednesday. The conference's new media rights deal, which comes into effect in 2023, is worth a reported $7 billion.