Florida State’s board of trustees unanimously approved filing a lawsuit against the ACC over the conference’s grant of rights the school signed in 2016. FSU made the news official on Friday after the board met in the morning.
In order for Florida State to leave the ACC before 2036, the school would have to pay a $130 million withdrawal fee, a timeline that coincides with the conference’s media deal with ESPN. However, the ACC has threatened to charge any school that wants to leave over $500 million in penalties to also include loss of TV revenues and other fees through its grant of rights contract, the school says.
Florida State announced a lawsuit against the ACC to challenge the league’s grant of rights, which was signed in 2016.
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Florida State is arguing that this policy violates an antitrust law and the conference cannot legally enforce its withdrawal penalty.
“The underperformance by the ACC has ramped up dramatically in just the last few years,” board chair Peter Collins said in a press release. “The ACC has also unfairly— and we believe illegally—sought to prevent members from exploring their fundamental right to withdraw by threatening to impose an astounding and pernicious half-billion-dollar penalty. It’s simply unconscionable.”
Florida State will file its lawsuit in Florida’s circuit court as it believes that ACC revenue is being left behind the Big Ten and the SEC, both of which have signed new media deals that have either already begun or will begin next year. While the Seminoles believe that revenues should be divided based on media value within the ACC, the conference has disagreed.
In turn, the ACC officially filed its own lawsuit in North Carolina against Florida State for breaching its contract by filing their suit against the conference, according to Andrew Carter of The News and Observer. The conference is specifically concerned over Florida State’s attempt to determine legal jurisdiction in Florida instead of North Carolina, where the conference’s HQ is held.
The ACC released a statement in response to Florida State’s decision, arguing that the Seminoles are wrong in their assessment of the deal.
“Florida State’s decision to file action against the Conference is in direct conflict with their long standing obligations and is a clear violation of their legal commitments to the other members of the conference,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “All ACC members, including Florida State, willingly and knowingly re-signed the current Grant of Rights in 2016, which is wholly enforceable and binding through 2036.”
