ACC's legal settlement with FSU, Clemson reveals ‘super league' escape clause

New York Times

03-07-2025

What happens if enough ACC football programs want to join a super league?
That hypothetical — however realistic or unrealistic it may be — is addressed in the settlement agreement that ended the conference's dueling, 17-month litigation with Florida State and Clemson.
The 68-page agreement, obtained by The Athletic on Thursday following public-records requests to both schools, also formalizes the conference's withdrawal fees and sheds more insight into how the league will distribute money based on TV viewership.
Here's what we learned:
Before the settlement, the answer was in dispute and at the heart of the nine-figure litigation between the ACC and two of its premier programs. Florida State had estimated that the cost could exceed $500 million.
Under the settlement, the cost to leave in the 2025-26 fiscal year is $165 million and drops by $18 million annually. The figure stays at $75 million from 2030-31 through 2036 (the final year of the contract). Those terms are the same as the ones presented in March when trustees at Clemson and Florida State approved the settlement's framework. Every ACC school and the league signed the agreement in May, and FSU, Clemson and the conference formally dismissed their lawsuits last month.
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Crucially, departing schools keep their future TV rights. If those rights had remained with the ACC, Clemson or Florida State would have added significantly less value to a new conference, such as the SEC or Big Ten.
Because TV contracts for the Big Ten, SEC and College Football Playoff are set to expire between 2030 and 2034, the industry is bracing for the next seismic wave of realignment around then. The agreement clarifies the ACC's and its schools' stance before the league's ESPN contract expires in 2036.
The ACC's exit deadline also changed. Schools must file a notice to withdraw by June 1 to leave the league 13 months later at the end of the next June. The previous date was Aug. 15.
The notable change is with revenue from the league's multimedia contracts. The first 40 percent of that money from sources will be split evenly among the schools. Of the remaining 60 percent, three-quarters will be distributed based on football TV viewership, and one-quarter will be based on men's basketball viewership. Other details were redacted and claimed as trade secrets.
The ACC is the first conference to use TV figures as a metric for conference payouts. Clemson estimated that the new model could yield an additional $120 million over a six-year period. That'd be enough to make the Tigers financially competitive with top programs in the SEC or Big Ten. The ACC doesn't expect the change to cause its other programs to lose ground compared to peers in the Big 12. The conference also weighs other payouts based on a team's performance on the football field or basketball court through a success initiative.
The agreement specifies that Notre Dame, an ACC member but football independent, is not eligible for the football viewership distribution unless it joins the conference in that sport.
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Clemson and Florida State must both approve of any future changes to the ACC's financial payouts.
Officially called an 'option of limited withdrawal,' it's the juiciest part of the agreement and new information, regardless of whether it's feasible.
Suppose at least six members want to leave the same sport to join a 'single sport league, conference or other association' alongside other schools. In that case, they'll owe $75 million or 50 percent of the current withdrawal figure (whichever is greater). In practice, that would allow, say, Florida State, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina and a few other top programs to leave for a super league in football while remaining ACC members in basketball, baseball and every other sport.
Super league scenarios have been pitched and discussed for months, and the logistics could prove difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. However, the agreement provides a framework for schools to join one.
(Photo of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)