What Clemson suing the ACC means for college football's future
An otherwise-quiet college football offseason turned up the volume considerably in the last few weeks as first Florida State and now Clemson have both filed lawsuits against the ACC, likely with designs on breaking out of the conference and kicking off another round of possible realignment.
In its suit, Clemson called the ACC's grant of rights agreement, and especially its reported exit fee, into question, both crucial points that signal the school wants to try its luck in another conference.
That exit fee is reported to be $140 million minimum, but in its own suit, Florida State alleges the total cost would run up to more than a half-billion dollars, a figure the school called unconscionable and unenforceable.
FSU and Clemson's legal moves come at the same time ESPN and the College Football Playoff announced agreement on a six-year contract worth $7.8 billion, but with a marked gap between the SEC and Big Ten, set to earn around $21 million per year, and the ACC, which will bring in around $13 million.
ESPN college football reporter Pete Thamel speculates that Clemson's lawsuit will have wide-ranging consequences for college football going forward.
"When we look back on this, today is a significant day in where we are going in college athletics," he said on SportsCenter. "When they do the 30 for 30 on the redrawing of the map of college sports, there's an irresistible intersection that happened today."
He added of ESPN's contract with the playoff: "Included in that is a financial codification of just how far ahead the Big Ten and SEC are from the ACC. It's almost $10 million a year just from the CFP.
"You combine that with the nearly $30 million estimated in the lawsuit today by Clemson and it's just an exclamation point for how far these leagues are ahead of everybody else."
Clemson nor Florida State have announced their intention to leave the ACC, and it's also unclear if either the SEC or Big Ten would pursue them if they did break free.
But with these developments taking their natural course, the outcome is becoming clearer.
"When you really look at where the Big Ten and SEC are as a Power Two, I think this is the most significant note," Thamel said.
"If Clemson and Florida State do end up leaving — and again, they haven't left; this is simply a declaration of free agency for them — but if they do leave, the only team remaining that's been in the College Football Playoff in the last 10 years is TCU [and Cincinnati] of the Big 12. Every other playoff participant will be in a Power Two league."
All the more incentive, then, for a school to see if they can get an invite.
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