$270 million media deal shadow for 4 remaining schools if Pac-12 MWC merger happens ahead of 2024

The Pac-12 has had a difficult time adding schools since eight of 12 schools have left in the last year.

The conference's future is uncertain, and many fans reckon the conference would fold. However, the Pac-12 and its commissioner George Kliavkoff have been adamant that the conference would survive.

Recently, there have been reports of the Pac-12 merging with the Mountain West Conference or American Athletic Conference. If that happens, the Pac-12 will need a new media rights deal, which CFB reporter Jim Williams explored.

According to Williams, the Pac-12 merging with the MWC or AAC comes down to Stanford and whether or not the school ends up joining the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Williams also adds that currently, schools aren't in a rush to talk to the Pac-12, as there are more questions than answers.

"Meanwhile potential candidates for expansion are not rushing to talk the PAC about their future because there's way too many questions than answers.

1. They need to see what a new PAC 8-12-14 media deal looks like and the payouts. 2. Is paying the exit fees worth making the jump 3. How long can the PAC remain a P4 conference. Meanwhile, PAC members may see a merger or simply joining only either the American or Mountain might make more sense."

Currently, the MWC has a $270 million media rights deal, so what happens to that if the conference merges with the Pac-12 is uncertain. As Williams noted, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered, which makes it difficult for the merger to happen.

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Does the MWC want to merge with the Pac-12?

Ever since the Pac-12 went down to four schools, the MWC was one of the frontrunners to merge with the conference.

MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez spoke to ESPN and talked about their interest in the merger. However, she knows that it would take time to figure that out and get a deal made.

"A lot of it is just trying to sort fact from fiction out there," Nevarez said. "There's just so much information about what's going on, and not all of it is true. From my perspective, it's been a matter of connecting with our athletic directors and presidents and contacts that I have in the industry to try to provide our board the best information out there...

"We're open to everything. Nothing is being shut down at this point."

Currently, both the MWC and Pac-12's future are uncertain, but a merger does make the most sense.