ACC vs. Clemson and FSU
Someone revealed to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports that the ACC has started looking into approval of a financial plan that would resolve the cases and retain the schools in the league, which is an indication that the legal war between the ACC, FSU, and Clemson is getting closer to a resolution:
The presidents of the conference recently looked into a plan that would grant league members a different income split in an effort to maintain stability and keep Florida State and Clemson as members. The structure’s ultimate purpose is to settle a disagreement with the Tigers and Seminoles, who are both suing the conference in an attempt to leave the league. Nothing is imminent, and the specifics of the pact are mostly kept confidential.
The league presidents are likely to continue their ongoing discussions.
Although specifics of the new income structure are still unclear, executives have looked at a proposal to establish a distinct revenue pool that would be split according on media value measurements. This distinct distribution would be directly linked to a school’s football and maybe basketball broadcast viewership figures.
Each fresh distribution would be open to all educational institutions.
The potential settlement was addressed last week in Charlotte during the ACC presidents’ annual in-person meeting. They convened for a regularly scheduled teleconference on Tuesday to continue discussing the matter.
For some, the schools’ possible willingness to stay in the league comes as a stunning realization and a 180 from what they had previously done. The notion of an uneven revenue system is not entirely new. The conference sharing method for FSU’s television money, which is now divided evenly, should be linked to viewership and other media value metrics, according to suggestions made by board members and administrators last year.
The plan is viewed as a stopgap measure to keep them in the league till a court rules on the legality of the rights award.
The College Football Playoff is the focal point of the new “success-based” revenue distribution model that the ACC approved last year. Teams receive $4 million for an appearance in the playoffs, an additional $4 million for advancing to the second round, $6 million for making it to the semifinals, and an additional $6 million for making it to the championship game. There are also additional benefits for finishing in the top 25 and making bowl game appearances.
The league is hopeful that by agreeing to Florida State’s revenue sharing claim, which is based on the university’s enormous worth to the conference in terms of drawing attention, it would be possible to resolve the legal problem. ESPN and the ACC have a contract extension option that expires on February 1, 2025. Originally intended to be activated by 2021, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips unilaterally approved the extension until 2025. The TV agreement between ESPN and the ACC will end in 2027 if ESPN chooses not to exercise that option.
