Despite Big 12 reaching new media rights deal first, Pac-12 is confident they can do better

The Big 12 was able to secure a media rights deal before the Pac-12

The Big 12 is making some major moves this weekend in terms of media rights deals. 

Even though we all knew this was going to happen, as it was reported that the Big 12 was on track to land a deal in a "matter of weeks", the sense around the college football world is that the sky is falling again for the Pac-12. 

While it definitely doesn't help the Pac-12 by any means that the Big 12 was able to not only secure a deal, but to do so before them, the confidence around the Pac-12 is still high. 

Breaking: @CBSSports confirms @Big12Conference signs new 6 year media-rights deal with ESPN/Fox. Not only did commish Brett Yormark deliver but B12 jumps ahead of @pac12, with CFP expansion the annual total could surpass $50 million annually per school.

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) October 30, 2022

That's right, according to Pac-12 insider John Canzano, there is confidence out of the Pac-12's corner that they can get a deal that is better than $50 million annually. While Canzano's source didn't seem very long winded about their thought they did go on to say:

“We are very confident to beat that number...”

Canzano touched on where the Pac-12 is at in their negotiations saying:

The Pac-12 is still negotiating. The original projections from industry sources placed the annual payouts in the range of $27 million to $29 million for the 10 remaining members. That would have put the Pac-12 Conference 10-15 percent below the Big 12. But that was before Amazon waded into the fray.

There is a belief that Amazon could help significantly boost the revenue that the Pac-12 will earn, but only time will tell. As I wrote about a few days ago, The Pac-12 CEO Group is scheduled meet this upcoming week. That likely won't lead to a deal at that time, but it will help point them in the right direction. It is expected that it will likely be three to four weeks before there is "clarity" in regards to a deal, which will then lead to a finalized media rights agreement.