Report: Path exists for Florida State ACC exit due to omission in Grant of Rights

As Florida State keeps clamoring for more money and has now signaled their desire to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference if possible, a question remains if they can get out of the conference Grant of Rights, long deemed close to unbreakable. However, high-profile sports lawyer Tom Mars proposed a radical, scorched-earth option for the Seminoles.

Mars tweeted on Friday that the ACC Grant of Rights does not contain a “choice of law” provision, which would theoretically allow Florida law to apply to a dispute over Florida State. A “choice of law” provision would normally spell out the jurisdiction for legal disputes and which state laws governing a contract among multiple parties in different jurisdictions — they’re a fairly common provision.

Without that governing provision, the Florida state legislature could get involved in a matter before the Florida courts and shield the school from liability.

“Assuming Florida law would apply to a dispute with FSU, the Florida legislature could arguably do what Texas did to Mike Leach and make FSU immune from liability for breach of contract,” Mars said.

As Mars alluded to, it would mimic a strategy that Texas Tech used more than a decade ago to protect the school from liability, with the state claiming sovereign immunity to avoid paying Leach.

It would be a bold, meta-level strategy for the Seminoles, circumventing the Grant of Rights by effectively having their state representatives and senators put up a liability shield for them. But with the seeming determination of Florida State to bail from the ACC for greener pastures, it might be a gambit the Seminoles leadership endorses.

On Wednesday, Florida State University president Rick McCullough spelled out the situation from where Florida State sits. And it’s not a pretty picture for the ACC, calling things an “existential crisis” for Florida State.

“Our goal would be to stay in the ACC. But staying in the ACC under the current situation is hard for us to figure out how we remain competitive. Unless there were a major change in the revenue distribution within the conference. I believe FSU will, at some point, have to very seriously consider leaving the ACC unless there is a radical change to the revenue distribution,” McCullough said then.

McCullough’s sentiment was shared by other members of the FSU board, including former quarterback Drew Weatherford.

Weatherford, who played quarterback at FSU from 2004-08 and currently serves on the board, made his stance clear on whether his alma mater will stay in the ACC long-term.

“I do think it’s an existential threat,” Weatherford said. “And this is just one board member speaking. Unless something drastic changes on the revenue side at the ACC, it’s not a matter of if we leave, in my opinion. It’s a matter of how and when we leave. Not everyone may agree with that, but I feel really strongly about it because I don’t want to play games. I want to go compete for championships moving forward. That’s what Florida State is about. And unfortunately, we’re in a situation where money matters more than ever and you cannot compete without the resources necessary.”