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The future of the ACC is uncertain as seven members have reportedly come together to discuss their options for leaving the conference. Those programs are apparently unhappy with the current media rights agreement.
That deal with ESPN runs through 2036 and should any league member opt to leave the conference prior to the expiration date, they’d have to pay a hefty exit penalty.
Many of the ACC’s top brands have been left wanting more as they’ve watched the Big Ten and SEC sign massive media deals over the last year.
Unhappiness over the situation began to rear its ugly head earlier this offseason when Clemson and Florida State, two of the conference’s biggest football programs, floated the idea of an uneven revenue share.
Essentially, they said that they should be paid more than other league members since they generate more money for the ACC.
Now, things have gone a step further, and others have joined forces.
College football insider Brett McMurphy reports that seven ACC programs have met with lawyers to discuss their options of breaking their league agreements.
Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia & Virginia Tech are “The Magnificent 7” ACC schools, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. These schools, @RossDellenger reported, have met in past several months, w/lawyers examining grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is.…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 15, 2023
Here’s more on the terms of that grant-of-rights agreement.
For those who are unfamiliar, a grant of rights agreement is when institutions agree to allow the conference to have the rights to their media. The ACC agreed to a Grant of Rights deal that runs through 2036 and if a member were to leave before then, they’d have to pay the exit fee and then would forfeit the revenue gained through their media to the ACC. Over the course of 15 years, we could be talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.
Fans have already begun to speculate the future of the ACC following this report from McMurphy.
This fan has a new landing spot for each of the seven unhappy members, saying, “Big Ten: UNC and UVA; SEC: Clemson and FSU; Big 12: VT and NCST; Wildcard: Miami.”
Someone else wrote, “The great migration is coming,” hinting at another potential conference realignment.
Many were surprised to see UNC listed in this “Magnificent 7,” while Duke was not.
“If you try and take North Carolina-Duke from us I expect riots in the streets of Chapel Hill,” this fan commented.
A few hours after the initial report, McMurphy broke some more news on the situation, saying, “ACC athletic directors emerged from a 4-hour meeting with commissioner Jim Phillips just now in Amelia Island and said they’re not allowed to talk to media today.”
It will definitely be interesting to see how this unfolds in the coming weeks.