$55M for Clemson, FSU and other schools if ACC expansion fetches Pac-12 schools Stanford and Cal: Reports
The total of $55 million will be shared among ACC teams should Stanford, Cal, and SMU complete their realignment to the conference. The three schools initially failed in their bid to join the league, but they remain under consideration as discussion continues.
The addition of the three schools is expected to fetch the ACC an extra $72 million from its media partner, ESPN. The media money is meant to go to the league's new additions; however, the three schools have agreed on a financial concession to join the conference.
This means the funds will be redistributed among the existing members of the league. With the expansion reportedly getting closer, the leadership of the ACC is currently discussing the model by which the new stream of income will be distributed among league members.
How will the ACC arrive at $55 million?
As noted earlier, the agreement with ESPN will see the conference earn an extra $72 million annually in media money. This translates to $24 million each for the three new members. However, their financial concession means they won't receive the fee.
Cal and Stanford will reportedly receive around 30% of the $24 million due to them in media revenue, while SMU won't take any media revenue during the period of the concession. It's worth noting that the financial concessions proposed of the three teams will last seven years.
This should leave around $55 million annually to be shared among current members of the ACC after all funds due to Stanford and Cal have been deducted. The distribution model is yet to be agreed upon; however, reports suggest it will be based on competitive merit.
Will the new income stream convince FSU and Clemson to agree on expansion?
Florida State and Clemson have lately intensified their push to leave the ACC for a stronger Power Five league. The two universities are not satisfied with the conference revenue-sharing model, which was adjusted to be based on competitive merit earlier in the offseason.
The Seminoles and Tigers are also not happy with the potential of receiving the same amount of media money for the next 13 years. The ESPN media contract with the conference runs all the way until 2036. It shows why the two universities have been opposed to expansion.
However, with a new stream of income coming from the concession offered by the expansion candidates, will the two schools consider supporting the move? To be candid, that is unlikely. The new revenue stream isn't big enough, and sharing based on competitiveness rather than market influence won't be appealing to them.