5 days ago
ACC, Florida State, Clemson file to dismiss cases against each other
The ACC's legal infighting is officially over after Florida State, Clemson and the ACC filed to dismiss the cases against each other Tuesday.
The move formally, finally, ends more than 17 months of litigation that played out in Florida (where the Seminoles sued the ACC), South Carolina (where the Tigers sued the conference) and North Carolina (where the Charlotte-based league separately sued both schools). Both schools and the league approved the settlement's terms in March, and Florida State's counsel estimated the agreements would be finalized in 30 days. The whole process took almost three months, approaching a June 9 deadline in one of the Florida courts.
Advertisement
The initial settlement terms clarified issues if/when Florida State, Clemson or other ACC members moved to leave the conference. Schools, not the league, would get to keep their TV rights, which are worth hundreds of millions of dollars between now and 2036 (when the ACC's ESPN contract expires). The exit fee, according to a presentation to Clemson trustees in March, would drop annually from $165 million in the 2026 fiscal year to about $75 million in 2030-31.
That's a critical window as TV contracts with the SEC, Big Ten and College Football Playoff will expire — potentially setting the stage for another massive round of conference realignment.
The agreement reported in March also created a new way for the ACC to share revenue with its members. About 60% of conference payouts would be divided based on TV viewership in football and men's basketball. That amounts to more than $15 million in extra revenue for the top earners — a significant bonus as ACC paydays lag behind those in the SEC and Big Ten. Florida State officials previously said that the gap would exceed $30 million in the coming years unless things changed.
