Getty Image / Jesse Beals
The conference realignment wheel keeps on turning. What was a quiet summer on that front has become the major story in all of sports right now.
The crux of it all is a PAC 12 media deal that has largely yet to come together. PAC 12 commissioner George Kliavkoff has been saying a media deal for the league’s teams was just around the corner for a better part of a year now.
But, until this week, there was no offer. Finally, earlier this week, Kliavkoff did present an offer to PAC 12 member schools, but it was likely too little, too late. After all, Colorado had already left the conference a week earlier, and Arizona had one step out the door.
The deal isn’t good, either. It centers around Apple, with the value coming in at around $20 million a year per school, and most of the inventory would be available via streaming, not over the air. That’s a bad deal.
Now, Arizona is on its way out, likely alongside Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12. And, it seems like Washington and Oregon have received the best lifeboat of them all, a reduced offer to join the powerhouse Big Ten.
Big Ten’s offer to Washington & Oregon is expected to be $35-40 million annually per team – a figure that, with the additional cross-country travel, could create some hesitancy, sources tell @YahooSports.
However, exits from the Four Corner schools could sway UW and UO to leave.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 4, 2023
It’s an interesting offer. Obviously, Washington and Oregon are likely going to have to accept the Big Ten’s offer. But, that’s a significant cut from the shares the other Big Ten members are getting, which are up to twice as large as that to start the league’s new massive TV deal. The Washington Board of Regents met until late in the night Thursday into Friday, presumably to discuss an offer everyone thinks they will accept.
More dominoes are sure to fall Friday.