Should Pac-12 follow the ACC's uneven revenue-sharing model? A closer look at the controversial concept and how it impacts the media rights deal

As Pac-12’s search for media rights deal continues, speculations over the revenue sharing model it might adopt also grow. Most prominent among the revenue-sharing models being brought up is the uneven model the ACC recently adopted.

The sharing model of the ACC combines equal revenue sharing with incentives based on the post-season performance of teams. The model guarantees an equal sharing of the conference’s television revenue.

However, revenue generated from post-season competitions especially the College Football Playoff and the NCAA Tournament is not shared equally. Rather, the teams that represent the conference in those competitions get the larger share of the revenue. How the teams perform at the post-season competitions also determines how fat their revenue cheque ends up being.

The model is a way of encouraging teams to be more competitive, and to reward sporting excellence. It is a departure from the fixed revenue sharing model used by most other conferences which guarantees every team an equal share of generated revenue.

The leadership of the AAC is confident it will improve the competitiveness within the conference and the quality of the teams in post-season. As a result, the conference will be able to attract better coaches and prospects in recruitment when the model comes into effect 2024-2025 season onwards.

How the uneven revenue-sharing model can shape Pac-12

It is hard to predict what kind of effects this revenue-sharing model might have on Pac-12. A lot of factors come to play when it is considered, especially for a conference in the kind of situation Pac-12 finds itself.

First, an uneven revenue-sharing model can lead to disgruntlement among members of the conference. In a highly volatile conference realignment situation, the conference will be at risk of losing such members. Pac-12 cannot afford to take such a risk at the moment.

Similarly, it becomes difficult for the conference to attract new members in the case that it wants to expand. This is especially so when the target schools are not at the same level of competitiveness as the current members.

While the model might serve to improve the level of quality at the conference, it can ultimately put some members at a perpetual disadvantage. If the better-performing teams keep getting higher revenues, they become positioned to get better by the use of the extra revenue whereas.

This image of an unequal conference is not one that Pac-12 would want to project at the moment.