Andy Staples: Clemson, Florida State 'won' legal battle vs. ACC but league hasn't lost yet

The latest reports out of the Atlantic Coast Conference suggest the disputes between them, Florida State, and Clemson could come to an end. However, On3’s Andy Staples sees this as much more a win for the Seminoles and Tigers than for the ACC.

Staples made that point during the discussion of the topic on ‘Andy & Ari On3’ on Thursday. He prefaced by saying a lot still has to happen before this gets official approval around the league. However, if or when it does, he thinks it’s great for Florida State and Clemson as it would put them out on the market at a prime time. That’d specifically be in reference to if that lined up with the media rights deal in the Big Ten.

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“If this goes through – and we don’t yet know if this is going to go through,” said Staples. “This is something that the ACC presidents are reviewing.”

“It’s funny because I saw a lot of reaction as the news was coming out, like, ‘Oh, see, Florida State whined and didn’t get it’s way!’. No, Florida State and Clemson won. Like, they won,” Staples said. “They’re going to get more money and they’re going to get out and be free agents when it is most advantageous for them to be free agents.”

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Per reports, the plan shared within the conference would shorten their grant of rights and shift how revenue distribution would go amongst the members. The money would be handled through ‘media value metrics’ in the league from there on out. The grant of rights would then end before the date that it’s currently signed for in 2036.

If accepted, it might be what ends the current lawsuits between the ACC, Florida State, and Clemson. However, that depends on what those two schools have been wanting to get out of these all along.

“It’s about money for them,” said Staples. “Like, maybe for Florida State, it’s more personal. But it’s about the gap between the SEC and Big Ten and the ACC.”

“The reason why I brought that up is because Florida State has made it personal,” said On3’s Ari Wasserman. “So, it’s, like, I don’t know if Florida State can exist in a world where they’re getting paid 90% of what the other teams are getting in the big conferences or if not being a part of the big conference and having that patch on their jersey matters to them a lot too.”

As for the ACC, Staples believes that they’re doing what they can with what they have in front of them. It’s probably not best for the conference in the present but could allow for them to find a future.

“The ACC didn’t win here,” said Staples. “The ACC did what the ACC had to do to try to prolong itself.”

“Like, even if things aren’t ideal, you have to come up with ideas to give yourself the best chance. That’s what the ACC did. Like, it gave itself the best chance.”

Nothing is final yet at all in regards to this news out of the ACC this week. Still, if or once it is, it’d be a significant shift for what comes next for that conference, especially for that pair of member programs.