If USC and UCLA defecting to the Big Ten was the first act of Pac-12 realignment, then the second act started in earnest Tuesday.
The conference put the rest of the college football world on notice this morning, saying it would immediately be going to the negotiating table for its media rights contract that expires in 2024.
It’s not exactly the move you would expect from a league that just lost its biggest media market and two biggest brands — USC football and UCLA basketball. It is an even stranger move when you factor in the reports throughout the weekend indicating the Pac-12 could see more departures in the coming weeks.
But the surprising timing of the announcement by the Pac-12 has led many to believe there is a plan formulating behind the scenes that could potentially keep the league intact. A high-level Utah source told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday the league remains “tethered together” for now and Utah remains committed to the conference.
If the Pac-12 is heading to the negotiating table now, the conference believes it is coming from a position strength. Which either means it thinks it will hold onto its remaining 10 members or expand.
High-level Utah source tells @sltrib that a report over the weekend of Utah, CU, UA, ASU meeting w/Big 12 today is "blatantly false"
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) July 5, 2022
Furthermore, Utah remains in strong alignment with Pac-12 leadership, league insitutions.
"Tethered together" used to describe the suitauton
Last week, the prevailing notion was Oregon and Washington were next in line to leave the conference — either to the Big Ten or the Big 12. It was also reported by CBS Sports that Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado were in deep discussions to leave for the Big 12.
A source within the Utah athletic department, though, said it was “blatantly false” that any of those schools were taking a meeting with the Big 12. The source also indicated Utah remains in “strong alignment” with league institutions.
That said, the issue for the Pac-12 remains the same even if every remaining member stays.
After USC and UCLA left, the future revenue projections from a media rights deal for the entire conference have dipped by nearly $200 million. With USC and UCLA in the Pac-12, studies predicted that a new Pac-12 media rights deal would have been in the range of $500 million. Now, a former FOX Sports executive estimated a new deal would be worth about $300 million.
This means significantly less revenue for each individual member, not to mention playing in a league with diminished power and no obvious path to the College Football Playoff.
The Pac-12 could add teams from the Mountain West, like San Diego State and Boise State. But with both of those schools in smaller media markets, the added value to a media rights deal would not offset the loss of the two major schools.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/BaHj6ws
Post a Comment