Greg Sankey takes shot at ACC's unequal revenue sharing model: 'It just hasn't worked well'

Greg Sankey has seen the ACC’s plan for an unequal revenue sharing model, and he’s not a fan. The SEC Commissioner isn’t planning on instituting a similar structure for his conference in the foreseeable future, as he believes it isn’t the best long-term strategy.

“There’s a history of unequal revenue sharing, and those conferences, it just hasn’t worked well for a long-term situation,” Sankey proclaimed, via Scott Hamilton of The Post and Courier. “In fact, the conferences that have chosen to do so have generally, either they don’t exist at a high level, or they’ve gone a different direction.

“I’m sure that what others have done will introduce the conversation. I would hope we’re careful and responsible in how we do that. They made the decision for their purposes. That doesn’t necessarily mean that fits our purposes or our values.”

The ACC came up with their new model in light of working towards a settlement with Florida State and Clemson. In the process, they’ve amended a number of issues, like the conference’s exit fee, and uneven revenue distribution between the ACC’s members.

It’s been confirmed that a new revenue distribution model based on a five-year rolling average of TV ratings will be put in place for the conference. A majority share – 60% – of the base media rights will be placed into a viewership pool to be distributed via a TV ratings-based model, the settlement terms said. It will take effect this coming year.

Clemson projected the “opportunity” for more than $120 million in new revenue over the next six years in its board meeting. It includes the “viewership pool,” as well as enhanced ACC “success initiatives.”

Evidently, Sankey doesn’t believe that’s a winning formula, and the SEC won’t be changing their model to fit the ACC’s anytime soon. SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum even predicted that the resolution the ACC came to with the Seminoles and the Tigers will lead to multiple teams leaving the conference in the future.

“If you’re the commissioner of the ACC, you have to live in the moment,” Finebaum said. “Yeah, you plan for the future. But you can’t be too hung up on five, six, seven years from now because there’s a chance you won’t be the commissioner. I’m talking about Jim Phillips. He made the best deal for the moment. He had to stop the hammer. He had to stop the bleeding. He did that, but there is a due date, as you said. When that due date comes, it is going to be open season, I believe, on the ACC. 

“It’s impossible to predict today because we’re still watching Oklahoma and Texas be digested into the SEC while the four in the Big Ten are — I just saw USC and UCLA compete for the Big Ten Championship in women’s basketball yesterday and I almost did a double take. But by the time we turn the calendar toward 2030, all that will be different. I think it’s very likely that the ACC loses a couple of schools.”

All told, it remains to be seen how the ACC’s new model changes the landscape of the conference. It certainly has the attention of Greg Sankey, but don’t expect the SEC to get in on the idea, if the commissioner’s words are to be taken at face value.

— On3’s Nick Schultz and Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.