FSU, ACC on verge of settling lawsuits, according to source
The end of Florida State’s legal battle with the ACC is apparently in sight.
Just a few days after its regularly scheduled February meeting last Friday, the Florida State University Board of Trustees is expected to announce a new meeting for Tuesday. (Note: Since this article was published, that meeting has been scheduled for noon Tuesday.)
At that meeting, a source told Warchant, the university will discuss dropping its lawsuit against the conference as part of a negotiated settlement with the league. Clemson is doing the same, according to a report from ESPN.
Florida State and the ACC have been embroiled in a legal battle since December 2023 — with FSU suing the conference in Leon County and the conference suing Florida State in North Carolina.
The Seminoles claimed one victory in the ongoing saga last week when the Florida Supreme Court declined to consider pausing FSU’s suit against the league.
While Florida State is essentially suing to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Seminoles’ primary goals have been to close their revenue gap with schools in the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten and to reduce the exit fees and penalties associated with leaving the ACC.
According to multiple projections and reports, schools in the ACC soon will be receiving $30 million to $40 million less per year in television revenue than their counterparts in those “Power Two” conferences. That’s per year, per school.
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Two years ago, Florida State officials began asking the ACC if it would consider unequal revenue sharing, where the schools who bring in the highest television ratings and win the most games would receive a larger piece of the revenue pie.
After months of talks, the other conference schools did agree to give higher payouts to schools that achieve the most success on the field, but they balked at the idea of giving schools like FSU and Clemson more money based on TV ratings.
That stance has changed, according to Warchant sources and the Monday report from ESPN.
As part of the new deal, Florida State, Clemson and a few select schools will receive a larger portion of the annual payouts based on media metrics. There also will be a reduction in the cost of exiting the conference before the Grant of Rights expires in 2036.
ESPN is reporting that the “brand” schools could receive an additional $15 million or more per year under the new agreement. An FSU source told Warchant that number could be closer to $20 million.
Stay connected with Warchant.com for more on this story.
