PAC-12 Media Deal Situation Sounds Like An Unfixable Disaster, Might Not Be Able To Catch The Big 12

It might be time for PAC-12 fans to start panicking because the situation is starting to get dire.

There's been growing coverage over the past few weeks of how the PAC-12 simply can't seem to find anyone to pay the conference a new media deal. A recent report indicated Apple might be the leader for the rights, which would be a terrible decision.

The PAC-12 appears to be in serious trouble. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

Now, it sounds like the PAC-12 might not even be able to catch the Big 12. Andrew Marchand reported Wednesday that in order to match the roughly $31.7 million Big 12 programs will earn annually, the PAC-12 will "have to piece things together, which might not even be possible" if the deal is with ESPN and Amazon.

Marchand, who is one of the best sports media reporters in the country, added "there's nothing close at the moment" when it comes to George Kliavkoff's league getting a new deal. In order to get a deal done, Marchand speculated the PAC-12 will have to "come way down."

If you're a fan of the west coast conference, all that should be absolutely terrifying to you.

Is it officially crisis time for the PAC-12?

None of the reporting coming out about this situation has been positive for the PAC-12. It's been bad across the board, and yes, Apple being the reported front-runner is not positive news.

Games moving to streaming would sentence the PAC-12 to years of irrelevance it would never recover from. What major coach wants to coach in a conference where the games are only on streaming?

One of the strategies the PAC-12 has been pursuing for survival is adding more members. SDSU and SMU are believed to be right at the top of the list, but that's not really going to move the needle.

If nobody is willing to pay for the 10 members in the league other than USC and UCLA, adding two G5 teams won't do anything. Sorry, but it's true, PAC-12 fans.

It's also worth reminding people commissioner George Kliavkoff talked a huge game and tried to convince people the PAC-12 was strong. Because we're honest and fair, we never bought into that nonsense for even a second. Now, it's late February and those comments have aged horribly.

If the conference can't at least match the Big 12's $31.7 million annual payout per team, there's a serious chance the conference could be cooked. We'll see how tough and bold Kliavkoff is if that happens.