Pac-12 to receive $200 million proposal from a limited streaming partner, CFB insider calls it a huge setback for the conference: Reports

The wait for a Pac-12 media deal may be over soon. According to a CFB insider, the deal is reportedly worth around $200 million annually from Apple, and it will be exclusive to streaming.

The Pac-12's current deal expires at the end of the coming season. Efforts have been ongoing by the leadership of the conference to get a new deal that will adequately reward its members.

The negotiations for the new deal have taken a long time, and announcements of its conclusion have been postponed multiple times.

The Pac-12 media deal is important for a number of reasons. First, the conference is fighting an existential battle. USC and UCLA were the first schools to head for the exit scheduled to take effect in July 2024. Other schools waited, in the hope that a new media deal would soon arrive to launch the Pac-12 into a new era of growth and expansion.

Pac-12 Championship - Utah v USC

However, the hope waned with each passing day until Colorado University finally commenced its exit process from the conference last week. It will be joining the Big 12 in July 2024.

Can the Pac-12 media deal affect its expansion?

Three more exits from the Pac-12 are anticipated this week. Arizona, Oregon, and Washington are the next three schools making their way out of the Pac-12, according to reports.

The Pac-12 may have been anticipating these exits, although the body language of the commissioner suggested otherwise. He sounded confident that the schools were committed to the conference no matter what at the Pac-12 Media Day earlier this month.

There is a lineup of schools that are reportedly set to join once the Pac-12 media deal is on the table. On top of that lineup is San Diego State. Remember that the school was close to leaving the Mountain West this summer in anticipation of an invite from the Pac-12 that never came.

Other schools in the lineup are SMU, Colorado State, UNLV, Tulane, USF, Memphis, Boise State, Fresno State, Tulsa, and Rice. If these schools arrive, the Pac-12's numerical strength will be restored. But how about the strength of its quality and the financial power of its members? That's a question only the new Pac-12 media deal can answer.