Pac-12 Conference TV Deal: Betting Odds For When It Will Be Announced

The college football offseason has always been filled with rumors, speculation, and gossip. As Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier used to say, "it's talkin' season." But players, coaches, and pundits don't just talk about the Heisman Trophy, College Football Playoff, and the transfer portal. The dollars and cents element of the sport is just as prominent in the offseason and that's especially true this summer. Realignment rumors are swirling as the Pac-12 and Big 12 look to poach each other's members. The Big 12 quickly replaced Texas and Oklahoma with a host of G5 schools and struck a deal last fall renewing broadcast rights with Fox Sports and ESPN. The conference's new contract was a six-year media rights deal totaling $2.28 billion. It also included an "escalator clause" which increases the value of the contracts with ESPN and Fox Sports if Power Five schools are added. Their new deal gives each school in the conference $31.5 million annually and the flexibility to add schools like Colorado and Arizona at no cost to its current members. That has sent shivers down the spines of Pac-12 conference loyalists who know that it's make-or-break time on the TV negotiation front. To that end, sportsbooks are weighing in on the Pac-12 negotiations. Bettors can speculate as to the value of the new deal and when it will be struck. 

New Pac-12 TV Deal Announcement Date

Last week, it was reported by the Seattle Times that Washington State president Kirk Schulz believed there was a 70% chance that the conference's new media deal would be secured and announced by the end of June. Schools like Washington and Washington State are waiting to release future budget proposals until this new deal is announced. The revenue will be critical for both schools who are currently underwater from a budgetary perspective. Pressure is mounting for a deal to be struck sooner rather than later, but in the eyes of oddsmakers it's more or less a coin flip to get done by July 1st.   

New Pac-12 Media Deal Value 

If the Pac-12 comes in above the Big 12's recent deal ($31.5m) that will be a huge win for Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff. That would place them in third place behind the Big Ten and SEC. If they come in below that figure there is a real threat of conference members defecting for the Big 12. The odds above indicate that sportsbooks anticipate the final annual revenue generated for each school in the new deal to fall in the $30m to $35m range.