The Pac-12’s proposed media rights deal with Apple is estimated to be worth in the low $20 million range annually for each school, per Brett McMurphy of Action Network. The league will have until Friday to make a decision over whether or not to accept before the deal expires.
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented multiple media rights deals to leaders of league institutions on Tuesday, with no agreement being reached at the meeting. The Apple streaming proposal was cited as the best of the bunch, with potential for the annual payouts to increase based on subscription numbers and league membership size. The reported numbers from the Apple deal with put the league behind the four other Power Five leagues in the Big Ten ($80-$100 million), SEC ($70 million), ACC ($35-38 million), and Big 12 ($31.7 million).
The news comes in a tumultuous week for the league in the immediate aftermath of Colorado’s decision to depart for the Big 12. Since securing a new media rights deal with ESPN and Fox last October, the Big 12 has been in a favorable position for further expansion and several reports suggested them targeting Pac-12 institutions. The addition of Colorado last week was the first major blow and the other “four corners” institutions in Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah are reportedly on the brink of defecting as well.
Given the reported numbers from the Apple deal compared to the Big 12, the three schools leaving may be an inevitability. That would leave the the Pac-12 in a perilous state with just six member institutions, half of what league membership was before UCLA and USC announced their departure to the Big 10 last summer.