ESPN reportedly lowballs Pac-12 in new Media Deal offer

The Conference realignment drama continues as ESPN has reportedly lowballed the Pac-12 Conference with their latest Media Deal offer. 

We are another day into the ongoing conference realignment drama, and the plot thickens for the Pac-12 and in particular Arizona Athletics. As making news on Monday afternoon, Wildcat Authority’s senior editor and publisher Jason Scheer joined SicEm 365 Radio to discuss the Pac-12 and their reportedly low offer from ESPN.

According to Scheer, the Pac-12 has reportedly received an offer worth $24.5 Million on its expiring media deal.

Now, granted this is just what is currently being reported, and this latest rumor is not yet completely substantiated.

However, we are still very early in the conference/media evaluation process, and with USC and UCLA leaving, it is very plausible that ESPN lowballed the Pac-12 to begin the negotiation process.

Nonetheless, if the reports are true, the offer made by ESPN is brutal and could mean the Pac-12 conferences’ future is in jeopardy.

Over the past several weeks, it has been a rather busy and tumultuous time for the Pac-12 Conference as USC and UCLA’s sent shockwaves throughout the world of college athletics when they announced their departure to the Big 10.

And since then, it has led to several hot takes and bold predictions from college football fans, pundits, and many others of that ilk, all theorizing as to what will happen to the Pac-12 and its member institutions.

As fans of one of those said institutions, naturally, we are very much invested in how everything plays out here.

But make no mistake, what happens over the next several weeks/months/years will be in part contingent on what happens with the Pac-12’s expiring media deal. Right now, the conference’s current media rights deal expires in the Summer of 2024.

The belief is that the Pac-12 is waiting on seeing what a new media rights deal would be worth (sans USC and UCLA) and go from there.

If the reported $24.5 Million were to stand, I cannot imagine Arizona or any of the other Pac-12 schools would be happy with that valuation. By comparison, the SEC inked a recent deal with ESPN that is worth an estimated $300 Million.

Either way, it should be interesting as we all continue to navigate the conference realignment drama.