Earlier this week, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported that in 2022, Pac-12 presidents rejected what was termed a significant offer from ESPN for Pac-12 media rights.
Let’s remember that the Big 12 arrived at a deal — sans Texas and Oklahoma (who will leave next year) — for $31.7 million per school. That was a remarkably good price point considering the two huge brands in the conference would no longer be part of the media landscape in the Big 12.
Apparently, the Pac-12 had a competitive media rights price point in 2022, but according to John Canzano, the conference’s presidents turned down an ESPN deal. That deal would have paid out $30 million to each member school per year.
The Pac-12 should have rushed to ESPN’s doors to agree to a $30 million price point, maybe bargaining to see if it could bump it up to 32 or 33, but being happy with 30. Given that USC and UCLA were no longer going to be in the conference, that would have represented a sand save after hitting the fairway drive into the bunker. It wouldn’t have been an amazing deal, but it would have been a competitive deal and given the conference stability.
Let’s process this huge story and what it means on multiple levels: