Pac-12 Fumbling Lucrative TV Offer Was Beginning Of End, As Last Four Schools Now Seek Safe Haven

There will be regret from Pac-12 members for years to come over what could've been a media deal that saved the conference. The dire situation that the remaining four members face over the next week could've been prevented.

The shockwaves sent around the college football world over the last month have been felt from coast to coast. But, being sold on a prospering future without USC and UCLA turned out to be the nail in the coffin for the once proud Pac-12.

A downfall that started with two of its prominent members moving on to the Big Ten hit rock bottom when Colorado announced its intentions to call George Kliavkoff's bluff. Turns out, the Buffaloes would be the first of many teams to remorsefully leave behind a grand tradition on the West Coast.

But it certainly didn't have to play out like it has, with the Pac-12 looking like a conference that had no idea what it was doing in-terms of selling the future. Now, the story will be talked about for decades to come, especially with a media deal that would've saved the 'Conference of Champions'.

All along we kept hearing from commissioner Kliavkoff about a television deal that never materialized, dragging conference AD's along for the ride. It wasn't as if he was lying, but he would sure love a second chance on taking what was a fruitful deal from ESPN.

"We kept believing that our conference would be taken care of. I know we had lost two decorated members, but there was hope that a network would see the upside in what we still had. Can't go back in time, but we should've taken that deal, but we were told the conference could do better," one Pac-12 administrator told OutKick.

What was this deal that they are discussing? It all centered around ESPN.

The Pac-12 Had A Solid Media Rights Offer From ESPN

By now you've heard about the proposal from Apple to the Pac-12 for the rights to put their content on the streaming platform. A deal that would've paid each school around $23 million per year, which was finally presented after conference AD's called George Kliavkoff to the table. Some AD's scoffed at the number, while a few held out hope that this could work. But at the end of the day, there was way too much uncertainty.

However, a deal that was presented in the Fall of 2022 could've saved the conference, looking back now. ESPN had presented George Kliavkoff with an offer of $30 million per year, for each school and the conference media rights. Pac-12 chancellors and presidents told him to reject it, after Kliavkoff said they could do better.

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff attends a semifinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

How could you blame the administrators? When the conference commissioner tells you he can do better, you trust him. He was hired for a reason, to negotiate the future of the Pac-12, so they allowed him to go back to ESPN with a horrendous counter-offer of $50 million per school. Yes, even with the loss of USC and UCLA, Kliavkoff and his trusted advisors thought they could get into a negotiation with ESPN, with such a ludicrous counter.

"What in the world would've made them think that ESPN would be willing to pay that much money when they already had their lineup set for the future. It was ludicrous, and that set-off a chain of events that led to the demise of the Pac-12," a television network source mentioned.

He was right, the Pac-12 never recovered and George Kilavkoff would soon find out that there were not many other suitors, especially with that thought process.

What's Next For The Pac-12, Remaining Schools?

We continue to wait on the ACC, but it sounds like everyday that passes without a vote of admission is bad news for Stanford and Cal. All the while, Washington State and Oregon State are searching for the right partner that would at least present them a decent revenue share. The Mountain West Conference would love to get into business with all four schools, but the Cardinals and Bears are hesitant to jump to the level of Boise State or Utah State.

I can't say I blame them, but options are pretty thin if the ACC punts on the option to have them join. The remaining four members have met this week to discuss the future, with a few options on the table. Could the Pac-12 stay alive by getting a number teams from the AAC to join? It's been discussed. But trying to grab members of the Mountain West is not going to happen with the $34 million exit fee for conference members.

Update: According to SI, the four schools against a move to bring Cal and Stanford to ACC are Florida State, North Carolina, Clemson and North Carolina State, which OutKick has confirmed. According to sources, Florida State and Clemson have dug their heels into the ground on this potential expansion, with the other two schools tagging along. This move will prevent the ACC from taking this to a formal vote, if one of the four schools cannot be persuaded to change its vote.

The ACC calls for 12 of the 15 members to vote yes on the matter for it to be approved. If they decide over the next few days to stick with voting 'no', then Cal and Stanford will be looking outside the ACC for a new home.

Also, Oregon State president Jayathi Murthy released a statement on Friday evening discussing the school's intentions to preserving the Pac-12 and rebuilding the conference.

On the other side of the spectrum, a merger with the Mountain West conference could be a solution. But the easiest option is al four schools to just swallow their pride and join the MWC, while also hoping to get additional revenue from its television partners, CBS and FOX. Even if Stanford doesn't join as a full-fledged member, it's still better than nothing.

This will come to an end soon, one way or the other. The ACC will make a final decision and these four schools will figure out their future.

But at the end of the whole ordeal, it didn't have to be this bad.