ESPN reportedly offered $30 million per school to the Pac-12 in the fall of 2022 in a media deal that, in hindsight, could have mitigated the conference’s current collapse amid Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Washington, and Utah making recent departure decisions.

According to John Canzano’s newsletter, ESPN’s offer covered the conference’s media rights, including the Pac-12 Network. The Pac-12’s presidents and chancellors reportedly told commissioner George Kliavkoff to reject the offer. They countered with $50 million per school, which ESPN did not entertain ahead of their current Pac-12 deal set to expire on July 1, 2024.

ESPN’s $30 million offer was not only more than Apple’s reported $25 million per school offer made to the Pac-12, but it also would have given the network greater visibility on ESPN’s platforms compared to the streaming subscriber base of Apple TV.