Florida State sues ACC over grant of rights, withdrawal fees, marking first step towards attempted departure

Florida State‘s Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Friday to file a lawsuit against the ACC challenging the league’s grant of rights and withdrawal penalties, taking a critical first step towards a potential exit. The seven-count suit, filed formally in Tallahassee Circuit Court, alleges the ACC breached contract for failing to create appropriate media rights value and violated the state of Florida’s antitrust laws. Moreover, it claims the penalty for withdrawal — a mind-boggling $572 million, $130 million of which comes from TV revenue — is unenforceable. 

“We have exhausted all possible remedies within the conference, and we must do what’s best for Florida State not only in the short term, but in the long term,” said board chair Peter Collins during the one-hour meeting, which was made public due to the state’s Sunshine Law. 

The unprecedented move takes aim at the so-called “ironclad” grant of rights tethering members to the ACC through 2036; however, the media rights agreement with ESPN — the conference’s media partner — runs through 2027 with a unilateral right to exercise a nine-year option through 2036. The suit alleges ESPN gave the ACC an “ultimatum” during the negotiation of the current deal in 2016 that there would be no further negations until the deal expires.

The ACC preemptively filed a lawsuit against against Florida State in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on Thursday claiming the school is prohibited from challenging the grant of rights deal.

Though Florida State’s omission from the College Football Playoff field as an undefeated Power Five conference champion may have been the final straw, the university has previously acknowledged its desire to explore options outside of the ACC, primarily due to the growing revenue gap behind the SEC and Big Ten. The ACC has attempted to be aggressive in finding further compensation for its top members. In May, the league introduced “success incentives,” allowing schools with postseason success to receive a larger piece of the distribution. 

FSU also voted against adding SMU, California and Stanford next summer. FSU outside council David Ashburn said during the meeting that the three new members do not provide tier-one media value in football, and the rest of the conference will diminish the bargaining power for the ACC in future media rights negotiations. 

“Ultimately, what we are fighting for here is not…