Is Stanford and Cal a better compensation for potential outgoing members, Clemson and FSU? Analyzing recent realignment drama
Adding the Stanford Cardinal and the California Golden Bears to the Atlantic Coast Conference would be a solid plan for the conference.
They need to keep the total member count up so they can continue to keep their media rights deal. With rumors of the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles being unhappy with the money as it is, having it decrease would be terrible for the health of the conference.
Former President of Fox Sports Networks and a co-founder of the Big Ten Network Bob Thompson notes how adding filler programs to the Atlantic Coast Conference would not be in ESPN's best interest. That would be because the conference will be forced to renegotiate a deal if the number of members drop below 15.
"ESPN is paying full rate for Stanford and Cal. Stanford and Cal are accepting less from the ACC. If someone is leaving, all this does is backfill with a lesser quality product. How is that in ESPN's best interest?"
That would be interesting, as the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears are trying to figure out their future as the Pac-12 collapses. They're not great replacements in terms of quality but keep the ACC away from the dreaded 14 members number.
What do Stanford and California add to the ACC?
The Stanford Cardinal and the California Golden Bears are not the traditional college football powers you'd expect a Power Five conference to add. However, there were three major reasons why the Atlantic Coast Conference would want to add the duo.
The first reason is the fact that they have security if Clemson and Florida State decide to leave. They need to keep the total conference members at 15 or higher. so adding Stanford and California gives them a bigger number altogether.
The second reason is the fact that they's not taking full distribution shares for the first handful of years. That means there will be an estimated $55 million in additional revenue to split between the remaining ACC teams.
The final reason is that it creates the ability to nationally expand the conference from the southeast portion of the United States to the west coast. That will be a great chance to increase their numbers and create a superconference in terms of quantity of programs.
The conference would be protected if teams begin to leave and not have to worry about entering a renegotiation with their media rights partners.