To be honest, I think $10 million per school is realistic, but I think it has to be the right network under the right package. I don't think the AAC is worth that in a vacuum, however, so the question any network will ask is what can you do for me?

In my estimation, the prime value a league like the AAC would have to ESPN would be in games available for Thursday and Friday nights. By and large, Power leagues don't like to play on those nights. Several years ago, the equation was a little different, but it appears NFL football on Thursday nights is not going away. ESPN will still want to show a game or two on that night, but don't bet on FOX being willing to spend for a product to compete with their TNF package.

On Friday nights, you're a little more likely to get a Power school to show up, but most of those schools are still in a position of strength and so they concern themselves a little more with alumni and the fan experience of playing on Saturdays even if it means they don't always get prime billing on ESPN. This is where the "association factor" that some were discussing earlier comes in.

ESPN also has the most slots to fill on a Saturday. Their numerous channels need a reasonable amount of content each week. Actually, they'll have even more this season with the ACC Network coming on line. Throw in a need for ESPN+ subscribers at that. So in a roundabout way, ESPN does need AAC content. They just don't need it as much as Power content.

If I was the AAC then I would steer clear of CBS. CBS Sports Network is almost invisible. They have no real heavy hitters to draw viewers to the platform so it's not a great option. I don't see NBC caring enough to make a serious offer. They've made no real commitment to college sports outside of Notre Dame and that's a unique product. All in all, they seem to have dedicated themselves to niche sports most of which are based internationally.

With FOX, you might have opportunities for Saturday games in decent time slots even though the viewership numbers would be down compared to ESPN. I just don't see a lot of upside to a FOX deal though unless they happen to be willing to pony up.

The only wildcard I see is Turner. It's a decent platform and they have plenty of time slots to dedicate. Their foray into Champions League makes me think they want to expand their portfolio. Recently, they've been beefing up their B/R Live platform and that's interesting, but it's probably better to be on ESPN+ if one is concerned with digital distribution.

All in all, I don't think being exclusive with ESPN in the current environment is a bad idea. For one, I don't think anyone is going to commit to a long term contract because major realignment could be happening in as little as 5 years.

Going exclusive would mean some games on ESPN+, but right now the AAC needs the money. The ability to choose whatever game they want for whatever time slot they want would be worth a good bit to ESPN. So splitting the rights could actually be a detriment to the contract value because a network like ESPN can't count on a large number of organic and dedicated viewers to buoy the ratings. What they need is the ability to go with the hot hand, so to speak. That and to utilize time slots that others don't.

If the AAC is willing to be flexible on their time slots, play weeknights, and move a game or two to ESPN+ then ESPN would provide the most use out of the content and that's especially true for basketball season.