FSU and Clemson Settle with ACC
By Darian Kelly
Last Updated on March 5, 2025
Update: The settlement was announced March 4, 2025. According to Andrea Adelson at ESPN, the “grant of rights remains in place through 2036, but beginning next year, the exit fee will be $165M. That fee then declines by $18M per year, leveling at $75M in 2030-31. Any team that pays the exit fee can leave with its media rights intact.”
ESPN’s David Hale reports the “brand distribution will be based on a weighted five-year average of ratings as a % of total ACC viewership, with a more heavy value put on more recent years.
Florida State and Clemson are expected to settle their ongoing legal battles with the ACC, which could birth a new revenue distribution model. According to ESPN, the ACC Board of Directors will hold a conference call on Tuesday to review the settlement terms. Additionally, board members from both Clemson and Florida State are set to meet at noon ET to firm up the framework. Associated Press reports that the settlement will influence a new revenue distribution model.
Barring the approval of all parties, the revenue distribution model would incorporate ratings into the revenue distributed to member schools and a revamped penalty fee for teams that want to get out of the conference’s grant of rights before the June 2036 deadline. Both Florida State and Clemson sued the ACC regarding their exit proper fees. Florida State’s 2023 lawsuit was filed as it was relayed to representatives that if they wanted to get out of their media rights and grant of rights deal before it runs out in 2036, the school would have to pay $572 million. Clemson also filed a lawsuit in 2024 against the ACC over their reported strict grant of rights agreement and gaudy departure fee. The penalty for them to depart at the time was $140 million, and they would also have to forfeit their media rights.
The agreement would send 40% of the conference’s revenue to all schools while the remaining 60% would be allocated based on ratings, essentially rewarding the most watched teams. Those high-earning teams can earn upwards of $15 million, with the trade-off being some schools seeing a reduction of $7 million yearly.
This new model would coincide with the ACC’s 2023 initiation of a post-season revenue incentive structure that would reward teams based on how they performed in the post-season and include their participation that made the College Football Playoff and NCAA March Madness. SMU athletic director Rick Hart told ESPN that Clemson and SMU received $4 million for their College Football Playoff appearances. New member schools, such as SMU, Cal, and Stanford, are receiving a lesser distribution of revenue from television over the next several years.
Ultimately, the ACC’s continued efforts to nuance its revenue distribution structure present ample opportunity for it to compete with its other Power 4 counterparts, the SEC and Big Ten, who are poised to separate themselves from the ACC in the revenue category within the $40 million range.
