Conference realignment is heavy on the pockets of some programs. Clemson and FSU, the two teams who were looking to leave the ACC, will now find it a little difficult to make the exit. They took the conference to the court, concerned about the usage of their media and broadcasting rights. The ACC might have settled their fears for now, but the door remains open for either school to depart. However, Dabo Swinney and Mike Norvell will only be able to avail it for a heavy price.
The 68-page long document with details of the settlement was acquired by The Athletic. Six or more programs are permitted to leave the ACC for a “single sport league, conference or other association.” And, should some programs plan to do so, they’d have to pay a fee of either $75 million or 50% of the current withdrawal fee, whichever one is higher. Crucially, this arrangement allows schools to remain in the ACC for other sports while moving football elsewhere. For Clemson and FSU, though, even this partial exit would come at a steep price. Here’s how the fee slate is divided.
If Clemson and FSU were to leave in 2025-26, they’d have to pay $165 million each. With the season just 2 months away, they will luckily not be paying that fee. For the 2026-27 season, however, the fee dips to $147 million each. This means their cost of departing will come down to $294 million for both programs in total. Before FSU’s legal faceoff with the ACC, it would have had to pay an exit fee of a colossal $500 million, which includes leaving and media rights costs. Clemson and FSU never officially announced an intent for departure, but their rights lawsuits were considered the first step in doing so.
ACC year-by-year exit fees, if any schools want to bolt
$165 million in 2025-26
$147 million in 2026-27
$129 million in 2027-28
$111 million in 2028-29
$93 million in 2029-30
$75 million in 2030-31
$75 million in 2031-32
$75 million in 2032-33
$75 million in 2033-34
$75 million…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 3, 2025
The settlement negotiated the terms between the ACC and Clemson’s future for the next decade until 2036. That’s when ACC’s contract with ESPN expires. Another notable change in is that 60% of media revenue will go to college football and men’s basketball. Before the lawsuits, the ACC and colleges were splitting the revenue equally. Of that 60%, three-fourths of that share will go to football, and the rest will go to basketball.
The Tigers and Seminoles, after 2030, need to pay only 75 million to leave the conference, which is the lowest the exit fee gets per the settlement. However, the programs don’t seem to be making plans to leave anytime soon.
Clemson and FSU missed the revised deadline
Leaving the conference still seems to be on the agenda for Clemson and Florida State. Now that the conference has lessened exit fees to more than half the initial fee (for FSU, at least), this gives both teams a huge advantage. However, any program leaving has to produce a letter of intent. Clemson and FSU have missed the deadline for it. “New deadline to give a notice of an intent to withdrawal from the conference is June 1. The deadline used to be Aug. 15.” But the 2026-27 season still has a chance of seeing the two programs leave.
If Clemson leaves, the ACC will be losing one of its biggest football programs. And with Clemson’s exit, other programs could also follow suit. David Mckenzie, an IP and First Amendment lawyer who had been observing the Clemson lawsuit, said that the settlement gave the Tigers a “one-sided” edge to Dabo Swinney and the top brass. FSU trustee Drew Weatherford also seemed optimistic about their settlement. “I just want Seminole Nation to know that the future is bright,” he said.
Clemson and FSU leaving the ACC stand to weaken the ACC by a huge measure. With an exit plan ready to be used at their disposal, can we expect the two to be leaving the conference anytime soon?
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