How Deion Sanders And Later Expiring Media Rights Deals Would Have Saved The Pac-12

The Pac-12 as we know it is on the verge of ending after the 2023 season, which is a shame for many reasons.

There is no turning back as four programs are leaving for the Big Ten, four are going to the Big 12, and two are headed to the ACC. However, on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Eisen, and college football analyst Bruce Feldman speculated whether or not Deion Sanders' arrival at Colorado, and if the media rights negotiations came one year later, would it have saved the Pac-12.

The Pac-12 is at an all-time high in competition with six ranked teams, which is tied for most with the SEC, yet it will dissolve in just a few months. Feldman broke down just how exciting the conference is with all of its talented quarterbacks and even speculated that had the media right negotiations happened next year the Pac-12 would be flourishing.

"There's a lot to get excited about about the league, honestly more so than in any other conference right now," Feldman said. "If all these deals did not come up or get leveraged into coming up... going into this season if they could magically turn back the clock, I think the Pac-12 would have had way more leverage if this was two years back in the cycle."

When asked by Eisen if Deion was somehow at Colorado two years ago and USC and UCLA hadn't left the conference, would things have been different for the conference who is generating as much buzz as it is ever has, Feldman expressed why he thinks they could have been.

“I think so. Colorado football was horrible for so long. I mean they were nationally irrelevant. This guy (Deion Sanders) gets there and immediately people care,” said Bruce Feldman who talked about the growth in his views when reporting the Deion news initially last season. "It's Deion...people care."

Unfortunately for the conference that once was iconic out West and the fans of it, they will just have memories to look back on and will be sent off with the 2023 season which could be the best year ever for the conference, on the field.