On Friday, Florida State athletic director Michael Alford spoke with the school’s board of trustees. “Something has to change,” he said according to a report from ESPN’s Adrea Adelson.
The big concern revolves around the media rights of the ACC. Alford believes that the Seminoles should receive a bigger cut of the revenue than what they are currently receiving in the deal that runs through 2036. Based on the current contract, each of the conference’s 14 schools receive an equal 7% share of the revenue.
According to Alford, Florida State contributes 15% of the value to the ACC. So why shouldn’t the Seminoles receive a larger cut? What this could mean is that the school is already looking at life beyond the ACC. But who would be willing to take on FSU? Perhaps it would be in the SEC where the other half of the Sunshine Showdown, the Florida Gators, already reside.
One way to combat the revenue distribution is an uneven split among the 14 schools. The Clemson Tigers and [autotag]Florida State Seminoles[/autotag] are among the biggest brands that would likely see a larger cut. The Miami Hurricanes and North Carolina Tar Heels could find themselves on that next wave as well. At one time the Virginia Tech Hokies would be among the top brands but the program has fallen off since Frank Beamer’s retirement.
I am not sure how the rest of the league would feel about getting less money to keep top teams happy. But it feels like this could coming to a head soon. Either the ACC looks to keep the big dogs satisfied or we could see more realignment in the very near future.
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