CFB insider reveals a $30 million media deal snub from Pac-12 teams caused the entire conference to implode with no TV partners for 2024

The Pac-12 has been a big topic of discussion over the last year-plus as the conference still has no media rights partners after July 1, 2024. The instability of the conference has led to eight teams officially leaving it next year, while two of the remaining four, Stanford and Cal, have their sights on the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Former President of Fox Sports Network and Big Ten Network co-founder Bob Thompson posted a response to someone asking if there was anti-trust for the Pac-12. While Thompson does not believe that is so, he did give some insight into what could have led to the implosion of the conference.

"At the end of the day, each of those Pac-12 teams got paid around $30m. If Stanford and Cal opted not to take it that's their problem. ESPN offered the Pac the same amount for 10 teams. They said no. How do you get anti-trust out of that? Seems to me the market worked fine."

Pac-12 allegedly being offered $30 million by ESPN could be news after the departure of UCLA and USC, but it should not be shocking. Commissioner George Kliavkoff reportedly mishandled the situation and asked for $50 million, leaving the conference with no TV partners. Now the conference is suffering as a result.

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What's next for the Pac-12 conference?

As it stands, the Pac-12 has four teams left: Oregon State Beavers, Washington State Cougars, California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal. However, it seems to be a matter of time before Stanford and California leave, as the Atlantic Coast Conference is figuring out the financials for adding them. That leaves the Pac-12 in a terrible situation for its future.

The next step for the conference would be to look towards the Mountain West Conference in a merger attempt. That would give the Mountain West the intellectual property of the conference but also would give some issues as well with liabilities.

Commissioner George Kliavkoff and consultant Oliver Luck would be great additions to another conference as they have Power Five expertise. MWC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, in an interview with On3's Eric Prisbell, talked about the potential of a merger:

"I'm still mulling it over myself. But it's hard to think of (the Pac-12 ) in parts and pieces versus a whole. We have a really strong brand. I love our geography, and schools are in a lot of places where they are the only show in town.

"Large, public, a lot of grant institutions. We have a lot of commonality in that kind of first-generation, world-expanding opportunity at our schools."

The Pac-12 has been trying to figure out its next step, but the options seem limited: merge or go extinct.