$258 million in media deal money for Pac-12 teams this season, with ESPN and FOX adding a fair share to their annual paychecks: Reports

The Pac-12 conference has been decimated, but ESPN and Fox have fared out well.

Entering this summer, the Pac-12 was in talks to get a new media rights deal, as their current one had one year left. The conference had a tough time getting a new media rights deal and eventually ended up agreeing a mostly streaming deal with Apple.

On paper, the deal was not as good as many expected, as the payout for each school was lower than most other conferences get. With that, some schools ended up leaving the Pac-12 after the deal was agreed to, leaving just four schools left.

It was a tough break for the Pac-12, as the future of the conference is unclear. However, one of the winners of that is ESPN and Fox, who were broadcasting Pac-12 games and now continue to get most of the games from those schools as they joined the likes of Big Ten and Big 12.

"For those keeping score at home...ESPN has added $156m in annual payments while Fox has added $102m in annual payments to each retain 6 of the remaining Pac-12 schools. Grand total paid for 8 remaining Pac schools: $258m or $32.25m per school. TBD is OSU/WSU nut."

ESPN and Fox have done well this summer in terms of college football realignment. Both broadcasters have made their conferences stronger and will be able to put on more must-see games.

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What's the future for Pac-12?

The Pac-12 is down to four schools but could soon be done to two, as all signs point to Stanford and Cal joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.

If that happens, the Pac-12's future would be very unclear. Only Oregon State and Washington State would remain, and both schools have been loyal to the Pac-12 so far.

Recently, Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes said to The Oregonian that he wants to rebuild the Pac-12 and keep West Coast football alive.

“Nothing’s easy, given the circumstances, but I think it’s our best path forward,” Barnes said. “It is a solid option in terms of building back. All the more need to have the four of us as the foundation of what we build.

"Will it be perfect, and will it be the same? No. But the opportunity to build back and keep originality in play to a degree is important. With less choices, you have less of a path to stay completely on the West Coast.”

If the Pac-12 is going to survive, it does seem likely that the conference will have to merge with the Mountain West Conference or American Athletic Conference.