Jim Phillips addresses length of ACC deal, unity within conference

There has been a lot of drama coming out of ACC spring meetings, with reports coming in that seven ACC schools are looking into the Grant of Rights. In particular, they were trying to figure just how “unbreakable” the Grant of Rights is as they’re growing more and more concerned that other conferences are passing the ACC due to its media deal.

Now, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has addressed the length of the ACC as well as unity within the conference as a whole.

“It’s never good enough for anybody that’s competitive, of course,” Jim Phillips said. “Of course not. Our schools have done a great job with the resources they’ve been given and so what I understand is anything else that we can do to close that gap will exponentially help our schools.”

The current ACC media deal runs through 2036 and pays the conference $240 million annually. It also locks schools in with a Grant of Rights agreement. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford stressed the concern that they are facing a $30 million revenue gap when compared to SEC and Big Ten peers.

The Big Ten media deal is a good example of the struggle the ACC is facing. That deal will bring in more than $7 billion and runs through the 2019-30 athletic year. That means that the Big Ten can renegotiate another even larger contract before the ACC comes to the table again.

“I think about it every day. I do. And it is what it is. You know, I don’t like going back to the past. I don’t, you know, well should we be in this position or should…when we decided to do this deal in 2016, we had 15 schools that, I think, raced to the opportunity to have a network, to lock in for 20 years and all the rest of that, and I understand times change,” Phillips said.

“And so that you adjust and it’s like anything else in life. It’s not always a straight line. So, we’re figuring this thing out.”

Later in his press conference, Jim Phillips was asked if he expects the seven schools to continue their discussions about the Grant of Rights.

“What I’ve been told is we’re all in this thing together. Emphatically. Right, we believe in the ACC. We believe where we’re going and we want to continue to work together.”

Jim Phillips insisted that the ACC is connected

Despite concerns about schools looking into the Grant of Rights, Jim Phillips insisted that he does believe that the ACC’s schools are connected.

“But I would just say this. I know the reports, I know the conversations and all the rest of it. I feel like we have a really connected group,” Jim Phillips said.

“And I’m not just saying that. They understand what we’re faced with and having discussions and thinking about what’s best for my school, I don’t know how you can completely criticize that because that’s the nature of this business that we’re in, in college sports.”