College football realignment: Pac-12 turned down ESPN offer, per report
Amid the latest phase of college football conference realignment, there are still questions about how exactly the Pac-12 was unable to keep its membership intact, and now it appears some of the details behind the scenes are coming to light, including the reported offer that the league actually turned down.
It was ESPN that came forward with a proposal for the Pac-12 that included the four-letter network paying the conference up to $30 million per school and included all of its media rights, including the Pac-12 Network, according to West Coast football insider John Canzano.
But the Pac-12 membership, feeling they could get more in the new marketplace, advised commissioner George Kliavkoff to ask the network for $50 million per school. ESPN's response to that counter-offer? "Goodbye."
That reaction, combined with what appeared to be a very lukewarm interest from Fox that included carrying some of the Pac-12's games, and the final offer from Apple's streaming service that has been valued at around $25 million per school, resulted in the mass exodus from the conference that followed in recent days.
Colorado left for the Big 12. Oregon and Washington bolted for the Big Ten, joining USC and UCLA. And the Big 12 then plucked Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. What's left is four Pac-12 teams: Stanford, Cal, Oregon State, and Washington State, with reports indicating that the former two are getting plenty of attention, as well, from the ACC and Big Ten.
(Canzano)
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