FSU and Clemson just played the biggest “chess, not checkers” game we have ever seen. A massive slam dunk for the Seminoles and the Tigers with an estimated $600+ million payout if they manage to stay put till 2036: All of this makes us wonder; did the ACC just shoot themselves in the foot? Imagine this: SEC and the B1G are swimming in money while all your paychecks get a massive ACC Tax slammed on it. No program is going to like it… So with the lawsuit, a new revenue-sharing model kicks in: Clemson and FSU get a chance at making more money through the performance-based incentives (based on viewership), and the exit fee goes down from $500 million to around $200 million.

“The ACC is taking money out of the pockets of some of its schools and giving Florida State and Clemson even more money to leave the league if they want to. Big picture: band-aid bullet hole. This is not going to work in five years,” Drake C Toll points out. The ACC collectively managed to piss off most of the Big 12 schools with this move.

In a time where every single program needs more money and the NCAA is imposing 20 million revenue rules for the athletes, FSU and Clemson are getting a “get out of jail” free card and making more money than any other ACC program while also having a cheap way to call it quits from the program.

What this reminds us of is the classic “You can’t please everyone, so you might as well please the one who matters.” However, ACC is not completely doomed. The D-day has been pushed to 2030, and the conference has a 6-year leeway to become a stronger force in the media space.

This would mean that even if a conference realignment happens, the ACC will still manage to float by unharmed. But the question is: What about the “losers”? From the terms and conditions and the entire settlement proceedings, one thing is clear: the poor will get poorer as the rich get richer.

Look at Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Boston College. Unless, say, they rank 11 wins and are in the playoff conversation, there is literally no way for them to cash out from their games. However, looking at the brighter picture, SEC haters might finally have a dandy ol time.

SEC FOMO

Look at it this way: if FSU or Clemson decide to jump ship after 2023, which conference has the highest chance of landing them? The B1G. Coming from a viewership perspective, FSU and Tigers pull massive numbers, and it is extremely attractive for the B1G.

“I would say between the viewership numbers between the geography, we’re at least attractive to the Big 10,” FSU insider Attorney Doug Rohan points out. Now, what does good ol SEC do now? Well, nothing. All the conference can do is watch the Big Ten land a big salmon and enjoy it.

Oh well, you win some—you lose some. Fair play, Noles and Clemson.