Conference realignment has been a topic of discussion in the college football landscape. The SEC and Big Ten have dominated the talking points as the two conferences seem to have a stranglehold on college football.
The two want to have a league and leave the ACC and Big 12 in the cold. This was evident when the College Football Playoff committee left out an undefeated Florida State in 2023 over a one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide squad in hopes of getting the legendary Nick Saban one last championship ring for TV ratings.
It was extremely frustrating to watch, but the Big Ten and SEC have generated a ton of revenue for their teams. I cannot stand the fact that Florida State is making less revenue a year than a team such as Vanderbilt, who had a historical season by beating Alabama but has been a mediocre program in their program history.
The other concern is that the teams in the ACC are making the same revenue, so to put this in perspective, Clemson is making the same as Wake Forest (sorry, Demon Deacons...).
According to Florida law, Florida State has made to make its lawsuit with the ACC public. It has not helped that the Seminoles struggled during the 2024 season with a 2-10 record. However, the Florida State administration understands that the ACC is a sinking ship and wants out of the conference, but they want a reasonable amount to get out of the ACC and they want unequal revenue sharing.
The Seminoles seem to have a solution as ESPN's Pete Thamel, David Hale, and Andrea Adelson, Florida State and Clemson are expected to reach a settlement with the ACC on Tuesday. It will involve a new revenue distribution based on viewership and a change in financial penalties for the Grant of Rights, which will be ending in 2036.
Florida State and Clemson will vote Tuesday on an agreement that would ultimately result in the settlement of four ongoing lawsuits, per @ADavidHaleJoint, @aadelsonESPN and me. ACC presidents are set to vote on terms and new TV money distribution. https://t.co/Dqfdxm78lB
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 3, 2025
This does not mean that Florida State will just stick it out in the conference long-term, but it does ensure that the Seminoles get properly compensated until they decide to leave (if they choose to do so). The buyout will be less than $100 million if they wait until 2030, but will they wait that long?
It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.