News broke on Monday that Clemson and Florida State were settling their lawsuits with the ACC after the conference committed to a new revenue-sharing strategy among its member schools.
The lawsuits, which were tied to conference realignment, led to the ACC revisiting their revenue-distribution strategy. The new revenue distribution model is based on a five-year rolling average of television ratings. It will be funded through a split in television revenue, with 40% distributed among the longstanding 14 members of the conference (excluding Stanford, Cal, and SMU). The remainder will go towards a brand initiative that is based on ratings. Top schools, like Clemson and Florida State, are expected to receive up to $15 million more per year in revenue.
But that’s only part of the agreement. The more important piece is clarity around league exit fees from the grant of rights, a paramount item for schools looking to leave the ACC in conference realignment. Under the new agreement, the exit fees are expected to drop by $18 million per year through 2029-30, according to ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. After ’29-’30, the exit fee will drop to $75 million and any exiting team will retain their media rights.
Under the previous agreement, any school that left the ACC would surrender their media rights to the conference through the end of the grant of rights (through 2036).
The agreement will provide stability to the ACC for the next few seasons, but realignment could impact the conference once again in the next half decade when exit fees for member schools decrease significantly.
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