The recent Florida State ACC battle just intensified. On Thursday, Blue Bloods Bias (@bluebloodsbias) broke news via “X” that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has requested that the ACC release public copies of their Grant of Rights, agreements between the Conference & ESPN, and ALL official bylaws.
This demand follows the legal action launched one month ago, when Moody and the state of Florida filed a lawsuit against the ACC following FSU’s snub from the playoffs. The Seminoles were the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to be left out of the four-team playoff. Moody said, “We are launching an investigation to examine if the Committee was involved in any anticompetitive conduct in it’s unprecedented decision [to exclude FSU].”
Florida State is contesting the validity of the Grant of Rights and the media contracts, and now they have added pressure from their own state attorney general.
Will this Expedite an ACC Collapse?
If Florida State can somehow win this court case, it is very likely that the other top brands from the conference will follow suit. Clemson, North Carolina and Miami have been frequently mentioned as other desirable programs for expansion and have been part of a previous inquiry to breaking the Grant of Rights.
Virginia, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State also appeared interested in pursuing other options last summer (as part of the “Magnificent Seven”), so they are likely to seek new homes if the conference appears to be falling apart.
If four teams leave, where will they go? Will others follow? If the Big Ten or SEC do not express interest, is the Big XII a better conference option than a revamped ACC moving forward? And if the ACC does survive by adding schools, are there enough attractive options to keep this a Power 5 caliber conference?
There are tons of questions to be answered. But of course all of them follow the greatest question, will Florida State win its case against the ACC?
Does Florida State Actually Have a Case?
If you asked me this six months ago, I would have said no, this is just FSU causing a stink because they are stuck in a conference whose media revenues pale in comparison to those of the Big Ten and SEC (who are expanding next season).
However, new developments have me thinking that FSU might actually score some sort of victory here. The ACC extended its media contract with ESPN in 2016, from the original expiration date of 2027 to the current end date of 2036. According to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, the league allegedly mishandled and misrepresented these contract extension negotiations with ESPN,
As Auerbach points out, ESPN issued an ultimatum that they wanted the contract to be extended from 2027 to 2036, and if that did not happen, ESPN would not enter into any further media rights agreements with the league.
Also, there were no guarantees of payment from ESPN beyond the contract’s initial expiration date of June 30, 2027. The contract extension also allowed the extension to be made at the previously agreed upon rate – that was already four years old and under market value.
There are more allegations – you can read Auerbach’s article here. If you are an ACC fan, I suggest reading it. I think the league is in trouble. Signs are pointing to an exodus by 2027.
Is There Another Side to this Florida State ACC Battle?
Most of the media is only presenting one side…Florida State’s side. But the ACC isn’t going to just let their cash cow walk away. This will be a fight. Commissioner Jim Phillips already said as much.
“We’re ready to fight,” Phillips said in response to FSU’s lawsuit. “And we will go through this in a reasonable way, but we will protect the ACC.”
Obviously, Phillips wants to keep the league intact. But it behooves the commissioner to keep the most-watched program in the ACC from leaving that conference.
Florida State’s average of 3.09 million viewers for regular season televised football games from 2014-2021 leads all ACC schools.#OneTribe pic.twitter.com/NEwnWwYBO8
— FSU Seminoles (@Seminoles) February 6, 2023
In 2023, FSU averaged 3.58 million viewers per week, which is good for seventh nationally. In the ACC, that is twice as much as the next team (Clemson) and almost three times as much as the third best team (Miami). Clearly, the Seminole brand is the most valuable in the conference, and Phillips would be wise to keep the program in the league.
Unfortunately for Phillips, the Seminoles want out. FSU is amping up their push to get out of the ACC. They have started legal action, and they have the state’s political figures behind them.
This figures to be a long, drawn out, and maybe even ugly fight. But I do think it will result in change, sooner rather than later. I think that 2027 date is going to come into play, and FSU will try to negotiate their way out of the conference before then.
And if FSU leaves, I think more dominoes will fall in 2027, if not sooner. The ACC will either be cast into obscurity like the PAC-12, or it will add schools to become Conference USA 4.0, which is essentially an average G5 league.
FSU is mad and they are fighting with urgency. They are determined to get out of the ACC, and when they do, the move toward a Power 2 super-conference model will be all but complete. Somebody will have to convince Notre Dame to join a league – then we will be at college football armageddon.
Enjoy your ACC football for the next few seasons. They might be the last you witness that resemble a Power 5 conference.
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