Arizona State AD Makes Unexpected Announcement About The PAC-12's Future

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It sounds like the PAC-12 might not be dead just yet.

The west coast conference has been struggling mightily to land a new media deal, and the situation seemingly gets worse with every passing day.

Two of the most recent reports a deal might not even be close, and if it is, Apple might end up buying the rights. That would mean the conference's games move to streaming. Opinions are split on that, but I see no way having games on streaming doesn't doom the PAC-12 to being irrelevant.

Will the PAC-12 survive? (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

Now, Arizona State AD Ray Anderson revealed he does believe whatever deal is reached will be enough to keep the league together.

Anderson told Arizona Sports the new media deal, "may not be the projections originally contemplated but will be a solid enough financial situation to keep this conference together," according to Dennis Dood

Will the PAC-12 survive?

Judging from Anderson's comment, it would certainly appear the PAC-12 is a lot closer to a media deal than some reports might have indicated.

However, that might not be a good thing. At this point, George Kliavkoff's conference might just be willing to take any deal presented.

As Anderson said, the deal "may not be the projections originally contemplated." The original number the PAC-12 was aiming for was reportedly $40 million annually per program. The Big 12's deal pays $31.7 million per program annually.

Whenever a new deal is announced, you can almost guarantee the number will be a lot closer to the Big 12 than Kliavkoff originally wanted.

Despite all the chaos and carnage, it does seem the PAC-12 will survive. While no new deal has officially been announced, it's hard to think one won't get done after hearing what Anderson had to say. Arizona State was viewed as a team that could likely dip.

ASU AD Ray Anderson hints new media might happen. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

If he's indicating the Sun Devils aren't going anywhere, the rest of the conference is likely also staying. It's going to be fascinating to see what the actual money agreed to is. What streaming service/network writes the check? The PAC-12 is truly in uncharted territory.