ACC is blasting. Amidst the long-standing battle between the conference and its member teams, the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles, it seems that the schools are running out of patience. The conference, despite the high-flying basketball dominance, was falling further behind the B1G and SEC in terms of football revenue and other advantages, creating a serious roadblock for its ambitious schools. After a constant back-and-forth, Dabo Swinney’s Clemson is still stuck in a 10-year ultimatum for leaving the conference without drying out their money.
Clemson sued the ACC over their grant-on-rights agreements on March 19, 2024, which was largely deemed as the first legal baby step toward leaving the conference. But they had to pay a lump sum of money to appoint and run the law firms. They managed to afford the funds for the ACC battle through its athletic department dollars and privately raised IPTAY revenue, according to the university. But they can’t just bankrupt themselves just to get out of a conference school not serving their best interest. So, they have to sort it out as early as possible. Now, a new revenue model in discussion comes off as some relief to Dabo Swinney and Co.
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff projects that Clemson will generate $120 million in new revenue during the next six years based on this model and the ACC’s success initiatives. The settlement also waned the nine-figure withdrawal penalty to $75 million by 2030-31. Explaining the ace in the hole, Morgan Thomas of Locked on College Football noted, ”One thing we have is clarity. We know, hey if you want to get out of the ACC, you can do so. We know that the certain price is about $75 million; we know that it goes down as you keep going instead of just being this number that’s just over your head for the next 11 years, and we also know that Clemson has opportunities to stay because they put on the table that there’s that revenue-sharing part of it.”
The same goes for the Florida Seminoles and Mike Norvell. They, as well, called out the conference to court and sought to break free from the league’s Grant of Rights agreement that trapped them in a TV deal through 2036. If FSU will be there till 2036, putting up with all the visible disparities, they are estimated to make over $600 million less combined.
In the growing NIL market, it will be too much to risk for Mike Norvell, who is looking to make a roster reshuffle in his 5th year at Florida State. However, the good part is they can avail of the same exit clause as Clemson, as a $500 million discount will shift the buyout money from $700 million to $165 million and will keep on reducing by $18 million per year.
However, Greg McElroy took the move with a pinch of salt. The ESPN analyst believes the ACC can only settle the dust between two schools involved in the legal battle by granting this exit clause, but a bigger menace might loom large if they don’t constitute a more solid plan to disrupt the issue from its roots.
Greg McElroy is skeptical about the $75 million ACC exit clause
Calming down a few schools that have raised their voice against pertinent issues and weakening the structure from the core can’t be a wise solution. Because you can’t be sure of the next move of someone who hasn’t yet addressed it in public. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see North Carolina as the next rebel, seeing Clemson and Florida State benefiting from the move.
McElroy said on his podcast this week, “But now, do you potentially take money out of Virginia? Out of their bottom line? Because I don’t think that’d be a very good play long-term. Because guess what? If Virginia decides to write a check in 2030 to leave the ACC, you know who’s going to want them? The same can be said for North Carolina.’‘
Also, the chance for North Carolina and Virginia to follow suit of the Dabo Swinney’s Tigers and Seminoles seems more feasible because of their geographical disposition. They are the bordering state of SEC, and so they will prefer to let them in. Also, the Big 10 can also make a move due to their academic excellence. We will see how ACC will deal with these multiple imposing threats down the stretch and sustain their existence.
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