Big Ten Lands Media Rights, What’s Next For The Pac-12?

SALT LAKE CITY- The Big Ten finally has it’s media rights numbers and it’s a historic haul, but leaves a lot of questions as to what potentially could be next for the Pac-12 among other conferences. The deal is worth about $7 or $8 billion over the span of seven years as reported by Brett McMurphy earlier Thursday.

Big Ten lands 7-year media rights agreement w/Fox, CBS, NBC, Peacock & FS1 worth record $7 billion-$8 billion, network sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. Contract escalators may increase value to nearly $10 billion, so B1G "is not done expanding," sources saidhttps://t.co/irRBVeQjYc

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 18, 2022

The media package includes coverage from Fox, CBS, NBC, FS1 and streaming service Peacock. The deal starts July 1st, 2023 and goes through June of 2030.

More Expansion Ahead

The Big Ten’s media rights deal leads many to believe the conference is not yet done expanding and according to McMurphey’s sources, Commissioner Warren is looking at other Pac-12 schools to help ease USC and UCLA’s travel in the super conference.  Which other Pac-12 schools has largely been up for debate amongst fans and pundits since USC and UCLA announced they will be joining the Big Ten in 2024, but the usual suspects named have been Stanford, Cal, Washington and Oregon.

However, it is important to keep in mind that almost every other conference expansion move to this point has been done quietly, and what would seem like the most obvious move hasn’t always happened. That means, just because it’s openly being talked about as a possibility, doesn’t mean it will end up being the reality.

This point brings up local Pac-12 interest Utah, and what their fate could possibly be with the Big Ten’s media announcement and potential expansion. It’s true, Utah’s name is not loudly brought up in these discussions amongst national pundits. A spattering here and there bring up that Utah probably should be considered, but no one is coming out and saying they are being considered.

I’ve been hearing a few things with my limited sources, and as always it’s very important to point out, there are lots of different discussions being had right now. Some more serious than others and directions are constantly changing in these talks and negotiations. However, with that said, I have had two separate people not associated with Utah and with no real vested interest in what happens to them tell me Utah’s in the conversation more than is being let on. Allegedly, what I have been told is schools with pull in both leagues have been coming to Utah’s defense when it comes to talks about future Big Ten expansion.

On Utah’s end, everyone I’ve talked to has simply come out and said they are confident that Utah will be ok when the dust settles. That’s been their message from the beginning of this ordeal and it hasn’t wavered once since.

Again, I want to reiterate this is not a guarantee of where Utah will end up, or that it’s super serious, just that I’m being told from two separate places they are in the current conversation more than people seem think. It’s an example of how complex and multifaceted conference expansion talks are, how different they can be depending on who and where you get your information from, and just the simple fact that most of us really don’t know anything until it actually happens. Hang in there, we are definitely in for more twists and turns.

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