The Pac-12's 2011 television deal might have put it ahead of the curve in the conference network wars, but it's still projected to fall way behind the Big Ten and SEC, per extensive projections by Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.
Big Ten and SEC schools could make $10M more annual TV money than other powers
Money helps keep college programs competitive, and two conference networks appear to be distancing themselves from the third.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Wilner projects the Pac-12’s members will trail those two conferences by more than $10 million annually in television revenue by the 2017-18 school year. He estimates the Pac-12 will dole out $22.95 million per school that year between the conference’s deal with FOX/ESPN, money from the Pac-12 Network, and an expected deal with DirecTV.
That amount would put the Pac-12 a little bit ahead of the ACC and Big 12, the two power conferences without stand-alone networks, but far behind the two leaders. The Big Ten is projected to share $33 million in TV money to each school by its own estimate (which doesn't yet include paying out shares to Maryland or Rutgers, but the Big Ten will soon be able to renegotiate its ESPN deal) for the same year, while Wilner projects the SEC at $35.6 million per school.
In late February, South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said he believes the SEC Network will be able to distribute $5 million per conference school this summer, more than originally expected. Big Ten schools will receive $7.6 million from the Big Ten Network, the first conference network.
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