ACC reacts with bold plan amid college football realignment rumors
Amid the latest expansion rumors around college football that seemed to suggest up to seven ACC teams were thinking of making a move, the conference has now announced a new revenue-sharing plan it hopes will make those teams happy in the future.
After it was revealed that the so-called "Magnificent Seven" were looking to see if there was a way out of their media deal, those teams then pressured the ACC to change the way it distributes its money, in the hope of getting more of it, and it now appears that wish will be granted.
What that plan looks like, no one quite knows yet. But there is a plan.
What the ACC said
"The Atlantic Coast Conference Board of Directors today announced that it has endorsed a success incentive initiative that will begin during the 2024-25 academic year," the conference said in a statement.
"The specifics of the plan are in progress and will be solidified in the coming months. Under this initiative, the implementation of the success incentives will come solely from the performance of teams in revenue generating postseason competition. All other revenues will continue to be equally shared as currently outlined."
What happened up to now
Insiders reported that the seven schools — Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech — were looking into whether they could get out of the ACC's media deal that runs through 2036 without having to pay the conference a reported $120 million exit fee.
With that looking like a legal impossibility, reps from those schools then used their leverage to pressure the ACC into distributing more of its media money towards them as they look to keep up in a market that has radically changed since the SEC and Big Ten both announced major realignment plans starting in 2024.
The combination of the ACC's seemingly air-tight grant of rights agreement, the huge exit fee, and this new plan by the conference to pay out a little more to its better teams, could finally bring an end to the rumors that these seven teams are looking for a way out.
Granted, of course, that the ACC can present a plan those schools will accept.
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