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The remaining Pac-12 Conference members have finalized the terms of their Grant of Rights, sources tell me. That contract includes a variety of elements that all 10 schools needed to agree on — and it appears they have.
Among other items, the Grant of Rights includes what sponsorships are Pac-12 centralized vs. left for individual campuses to sell, what sets of rights the conference can sell, and how the revenue will be split among the 10 member schools.
Even shares?
Postseason incentives?
"Over the last few months," a member of the Pac-12 CEO Group told me, "we have negotiated all of these issues and the Grant of Rights is ready to go."
The length of the contract will be dictated by the length of the Pac-12's yet-to-be-finalized media-rights deal. But I'm told all 10 schools are ready to sign the Grant of Rights once the media deal is concluded to their satisfaction.
The Grant of Rights includes equal revenue sharing on the media-rights front, per a source, but incentivized sharing of postseason revenue when it comes to the College Football Playoff. Under the agreement, NCAA Tournament shares would still be distributed equally.
A few things while we wait:
When will the Pac-12's media rights deal be done?
I thought it would get done by last Thanksgiving. Then, by Christmas. Then, by March. The Pac-12 presidents and chancellors are now being careful to preserve the "late spring/early summer" timeline they reset a couple of months ago. Summer officially begins on June 21 — in 12 days.
What about San Diego State's timeline?
The Aztecs are viewed as a strong expansion possibility. If they want to join the Pac-12 for the 2024 football season, the Aztecs have until June 30 to inform the Mountain West Conference they're leaving. If they miss that deadline the $17 million MWC exit fee doubles to $34 million.
A Pac-12 source told me last week: "We can't really control their deadline. Need to get our deals done so we can tell them what they'd get."
I suppose San Diego State could just inform the MWC they're leaving on June 30 and figure the details out later. The Pac-12 could also invite the Aztecs without the media deal fully completed, but I find it hard to believe SDSU would commit without knowing what the offer is.
San Diego State is being very patient. SDSU is being told by the Pac-12 that the conference "feels good" about the impending media deal and is just "trying to wrap things up," per an Aztecs source. Stay tuned on this front.
What do you make of Colorado's Board of Regents meeting this week?
The sad souls out there rooting for the demise of the Pac-12 saw "legal advice on a specific matter — athletics matter at CU Boulder" on Tuesday's meeting agenda and jumped to a lot of conclusions. Apparently the "matter" was not a move to the Big 12.
"It was just a status update on the Pac-12 media rights negotiations," an involved source told me.
Those same regents now have added a "special board meeting" scheduled for Friday.
What about other Pac-12 members?
Washington State also has a Board of Regents meeting scheduled for Friday. The Cougars are knee-deep in an athletic department budget crisis. The agenda for that meeting outlined department revenue, expenses, and the plan to bring the budget in line during the next fiscal year. But it was "Action Item No. 4" that jumped off the page to me.
It would give WSU President Kirk Schulz the authority to "execute contracts or other agreements related to the University's athletic media rights."
Schulz isn't just a member of the Pac-12's CEO Group, he's particularly tuned in as a member of the executive committee along with Washington president Ana Mari Cauce and Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne.
Schulz currently only has signatory authority on matters up to $5 million. Beyond that, he needs to consult with WSU's regents. Resolution No. 230609-684 would give Schulz authority to sign deals in excess of that cap.
"It is highly likely business necessities will dictate that the execution of said contracts or agreements will need to occur on an expedited basis, a necessity difficult for the Board of Regents to manage as a body," the request noted.
I don't want to make too much of one action item, but this is definitely an important step toward putting ink to paper.
How do conference media-rights deals get finalized?
Bob Thompson, the retired Fox Sports Networks president, was on the other side of the table the last time the Pac-12 sold its media rights. Thompson told me on Wednesday that he didn't remember individual schools having to consult with their regents.
"Basically, we told the conference they were responsible for acquiring the necessary grant of rights approvals from the schools and to represent that they had those approvals," he said. "How and when they did that I have no idea."
I asked around.
Each campus has a different process. Private schools, such as Stanford, have different protocols than public schools. Some of the universities have already granted signatory rights to their presidents and chancellors. Others, like Oregon, are going through a change of leadership. It's working with an interim president until July 1, when John Karl Scholz takes office.
Said one Pac-12 CEO Group member: "Each campus is doing whatever it needs to do to be ready to approve when the time comes."
Read more of columnist John Canzano exclusively at JohnCanzano.com.
