FSU Suing ACC over withdrawal Fee

It was stupid to join the ACC when they did. Now it would be stupid to leave it.

Garbage in, garbage out.

 

Question about the $500 million fee to leave. My understanding is that’s $120 million of an actual fee and the rest is the value of what they’d receive from television rights. Does the acc have to accept that tv rights payment? Could they just take the $120 million, let fsu leave and hold onto the rights, as an f u? I assume it’s in everybody’s best interest to take the money and part ways, so conversely wouldn’t that essentially be fsu buying their rights back which they could turn around and collect revenue for the new conference? Meaning it would be a huge upfront payment but they start making some of it back?

 

They are trying like hell to get AAU status as we speak.
Here is the bottom line. They want into the SEC or the Big10 or they aren't going anywhere. The Big 12 is pretty much ACC lite. So the question is, how much does the Big10 want them? The SEC doesn't and the ONLY reason we would is to keep the Big10 out of the south. I'm not sure which takes priority for the SEC. Keep the Big 10 out of our footprint or reject FSU.

In either case, if FSU hadn't gone undefeated in the regular season, no one would be talking about them right now. The perception is that they are "back". If they can't continue that trajectory then they will fade back into ACC mediocrity and that's that.

 

The problem in this for FSU is that the ACC, in my opinion, has all the leverage. FSU signed the GOR, which pretty clearly spells out the terms.

Would the other ACC schools really be willing to accept 1/11th of $120M, which would be a one time payment of less than $11M for each remaining ACC school, to let FSU leave but have the ACC retain their media rights? Would ACC TV networks have any reason to show FSU games? I don't think so. So for the ACC, they would be replacing each game that would have been a top 3 ACC game with FSU each week with a lesser game. Keep in mind that without FSU as a conference member, the ACC also takes a huge prestige hit. I just don't even see how that would benefit the ACC members. And now the ACC is going to try to take away any power FSU has as an ACC member.

For FSU, the issue is that without the media rights, do they really have any value to the Big-10 or SEC? Would there really be any reason for either conference to take FSU? I'm not sure there is.

Besides that, I honestly think that outside of Notre Dame, the SEC and Big-10 are unlikely to give any new members a full share. I think if the Big-10 or SEC offered FSU, it would be a similar deal to what UW and Oregon got from the Big-10, which is a half share.

In my opinion, FSU's only real chance to get out of the ACC was to implode the entire conference, which they tried really hard to do.

I'm not seeing any real options for FSU in this.

 

That's one thing I don't like. If you are in a conference, all teams should get the same. I think Rutgers or Maryland get a smaller deal from the Big10 also. I get that they may not be as big of a brand but guess what, teams rise and fall and some schools may be better at certain sports than others. It creates an unbalanced power dynamic that rubs me the wrong way in this case. I like that Vandy gets all that they do. If they were better, they could get more money by going to bowls or the playoffs.

 

Personally, I think their eventual strategy is to use FL taxpayer money to make the ACC's litigation fees so unpalatable that a settlement will be reached that includes their exit. I don't think that even the meatheads in Tallahassee think they can win a cut and dried breach of contract lawsuit. FSU's lawsuit is about lowering the cost of the exit, not the exit itself.

I don't think the SEC will follow suit with the BIG with the unequal share kind of deals with potential new members. They have observed what happened to conferences that had unequal membership shares (Big 12) and saw what that did to that conference.

The Big 10 isn't taking FSU short of their membership to the AAU occurring, so I think you are right that FSU's options are very limited. Unless they can somehow convince ND to go with them somewhere as a package deal, it appears that their only conference option after they burn the ACC bridge is the re-constituted Big 12.

 

But the other schools would still get a share of fsus media rights each year instead of a lump sum right? Acc could still show their games but I guess wouldn’t care about the ratings. I was more curious if that was even an option with the way the GOR is or if it’s just a straight financial buyout. I it’s agree it’s not practical and probably doesn’t make sense but it’s part of the leverage the acc has like you said… leave us and you don’t have viable conference to go to and won’t be on tv so you’d be almost irrelevant.

 

oooooohhhhh, please o please let this happen. I particularly like the irrelevant part.

 

My understanding is that FSU's athletic department is now a separate legal entity like ours is. Consequently, I don't see taxpayer dollars coming into play, unless I am missing something.

 

Maryland and Rutgers are *earning* full shares from the B1G now, their deal was they get partial shares the first six years, which has passed.

Maryland and Rutgers aren't *receiving* full shares from the B1G yet because they took out loans and advances from the conference during those partial years. The loan payments are being withheld from their payouts.

 

They've been trying like hell to "get into" the AAU (it's by invitation) since we were tapped (1985) and.... they've already bypassed by Miami and USF. DOH!

They're a bunch of entitled whiny bitches.

I hope they wind up in the AAC and develop heated rivalries with Tulane, USF and Memphis...

 

For comparison, UF’s research funding is around 1.25 billion, FSU is around 400 million. UF is middle of the road for AAU.
And without a real med school in particular to drive dollars, they have an uphill climb.

 

I don’t like that Vandy skims money that it doesn’t earn. Either try to win or receive tge amount you help generate. This isn’t the welfare line.

 

No bigger conference is going to take FSU and pay them a cut of a tv contract without them bringing their TV rights for years. Non-starter. If a conference has to require you to sign your life away for 20 years, probably not a contract you should sign

 

I can't imagine a comprehensive contract that is as "iron clad" as this one is supposed to be, therefore negotiated by well-experienced lawyers, not have a "breaching party pays the other's attorney fees" provision. If so, and if the Holes have breached their obligations, at all, the ACC has no incentive to avoid running up a nice, big, fat lawyers' bill to present.

I have also not seen any discussion about the forum selection or related governing law provisions . . . which are certainly included in a multi-state contract among so many members. I'd bet it's a North Carolina forum and N.C. law.

Nothing they have done makes any strategic sense to me . . . but I admit I can't think like a Hole LOL!

 

I agree with you and they eventually will.

But the existing Big-10 and SEC members aren't going to take a pay cut now to add teams. I believe Oregon and Washington will get the half share for 7 years until their contract is renegotiated. In ACC, Cal and Stanford is getting a reduced payout and SMU gets nothing until their TV deal is renegotiated.

 

Yes, NC is the forum, as provided for in the agreement. The Holes filed in Tallahassee; how their lawyers thought the ACC wouldn't pounce on that is beyond me. Straight up clown stupidity. The ACC has moved to dismiss the lawsuit in Tallahassee, which will most certainly be granted, and jurisdiction transferred to NC. Almost contemporaneously, the ACC filed suit in NC against the Holes to enforce the agreement, and for damages for breach of contract.

Things have been strangely quiet since then. Methinks that people are talking. The Holes have a horrible case, the ACC cannot give in as to do so would create an existential crisis for the ACC so they can't back down, and I suspect even the dumbass Holes know this. Then there is the small matter of where in hell are the Holes going to go?

The Holes bluffed, the ACC called their bluff, so the Holes are on the horns of a dilemma. The whole thing is so sleazy and stupid even by FSU standards. Go figure.

 

Here's the thing with AAU. For a long time, the Big-10 said they on'y wanted AAU members. I'm not sure that's quite the case the way it was 10-20 years ago. The AAU, in my opinion, has really diluted itself in the last 10 years.

I know USF and Miami are quality schools but the AAU is basically selling out and I'm not sure AAU membership means what it used to. The more AAU members they add, the less exclusive it is. Especially if a school like FSU (which is a good school) gets pushed through in order to join the Big-10. Then it would be a joke.

 

Vandy is a charter member. They get to stay until they decide not to.

Besides, they're the most prestigious school in the conference. Why would you want to get rid of them?

More Vandy, less FSU.

 

No problem with them be in the conference and academically they are our best school. They just don’t deserve football money generated by others when they make very little effort to win. They just cash the check but don’t earn it.