Report: The Audacious Counteroffer That Led ESPN to Walk Away From Pac-12 Negotiations
The fall of the Pac-12 happened quickly last week when six teams committed to move to other conferences, but the writing has been on the wall for the while. As the Pac-12 tried to get a new media deal with Apple, it became clear that the conference had limited options for exposure.
At one point during its media rights negotiations, though, the Pac-12 had a chance to agree to a new TV deal with ESPN. However, the conference fumbled negotiations, leading to ESPN walking away from the deal.
Oregon insider John Canzano reports that in 2022, ESPN had an offer out to the Pac-12 that would have given each school $30 million annually for the media rights as part of the deal. However, when the board then asked ESPN to raise that number to $50 million, ESPN walked away completely.
The Pac-12 had an offer from ESPN of $30 million per school in the fall of 2022. The network wanted it all. But the presidents and chancellors wanted more.
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) August 11, 2023
“We said we want $50 million per school.”
ESPN's response?
“Goodbye.”
Read: https://t.co/5FvvINZHQ2 pic.twitter.com/E8FS2oRiXe
For reference, according to Canzano, in the Pac-12’s most recent discussions with Apple, the highest number that the tech giant offered was $25 million per school. Apple’s deal also included unique incentives related to the network airing solely on a streaming service, but it wasn’t enough to keep Oregon and Washington from heading to the Big Ten.
Meanwhile, last October, the Big 12 agreed to a six-year, $2.28 billion media rights deal with ESPN and Fox. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that each Big 12 school will earn $31.7 million per year in media-only revenue as part of the new deal. However, that number could approach $50 million depending on how revenue increases over the course of the deal.