With dreams of the B1G, no way UW & UO sign anything long term or with a strong grant of rights. So ESPN will only deal for a discount. The only way to get the value up is to go all-in with a streamer. But that creates an unacceptable loss of visibility. That leaves a short-term, below market ESPN deal as the only option.

But with the Big12 wolf at the door, that is iffy too. The needle the PAC12 commish has to thread is convincing every school that the difference between the Big12 $ and the ESPN $ is made up for by saving their PAC12 identity. It is his only play that has a chance of keeping things together.

If even one school refuses and there are no options left. A PAC/MWC hybrid will have even less bargaining power. ESPN knows that the longer they make the PAC sweat, the cheaper they can get their content.

The real question here is what is the cost point for ESPN to pay a few former PAC schools Big12 wages and get the remaining PAC schools, plus a few MWC add-ins, at a deep discount? That same value will be ESPN's final offer to the PAC12. If any schools don't value their pride in the PAC12 label enough to take that deal lowball deal, then it is over. Katy bar the door.

If they do all value the PAC label enough to take a short-term, cheap contract, then the PAC lives on for a couple more years. The PAC12 commish has no say in the ammount offered. There is no real negotiation. ESPN holds all the cards and is dictating the final offer and when it will be delivered. The commish can only play to the academic pride of the presidents to try to convince them to accept it. He has no other cards to play.