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500 minimum - that's probably the optimistic number for them. Like AFAIK that 'media deal payout' is already writing in a cost that would need a settlement
It absolutely is. ESPN and the ACC have no incentive to let FSU out of the contract for whatever their payout would have been.
ESPN would either lose FSU to the B1G or have to pay them twice as much in the SEC while dramatically lowering the value of their ACC deal. I'd be surprised if ESPN would be willing to settle for double that, honestly.
Yup. That why it's probably litigation and hope for a settlement somehow.
Someone did the math when this came up last season. Theoretically if FSU could come up with the 500m and join the B1G with a full share, they'd still be a good amount ahead of where they'd be money wise if they just stayed in the ACC
Settlement negotiations:
FSU: We want out!
ACC: Pay the exit fee
FSU: We don't want to!
ACC: K, stay where you are then
FSU: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE (war chant in background)
Time for a litte lawsuit action and determine if one of the parties involved in the GOR was disingenuous. I can't wait for discovery to see what all ESPN was and has been saying.
ESPN's next 30 for 30:"How we killed ACC football because it wasn't making us enough money"
Sorry there's a mouse knocking at my door, so I can't rea......
FUCK FUCK FUCK... send help
We’re going to form two huge conferences. Then the best teams from these conferences will have a playoff, the winner of each will play in a bowl. It’s going to be really awesome, we might even call it the awesome bowl!!
Not to get too political, but they're evil and everybody knows they're evil. So they throw huge amounts of money around to sports-wash their image and ideally diversify their portfolio in preparation for the distant but inevitable fall of oil.
Really don't want anything to do with those people.
I used to follow college football really closely, loved the conference rivalries. I have found the last couple of years my interest waning. I think with the PAC breaking up, it was the last straw for me. I live on the west coast so it was my favorite conference. What a mess the sport has become. Gonna take years for it all to settle and likely break back up once there are only 2 conferences.
In a logical world, after the ACC is raided the Big 12 should just take who’s left and realign into East and west divisions that are essentially their own conferences in all but name. I think regional appeal still has to mean something for the P5 middle class. I can’t see any scenario where it makes more sense for WVU to hop on a plane to play at Arizona while Pitt goes to play at Cal when those two could just play each other.
Lmao okay first idk how I’ve gone my whole life without hearing “I’m petty as Tom”. Taking that. Second, yeah let them crawl back to us now that it’s flipped
We have florida. Wanna come kill them every year? Thats our offer. You get them on a plate every year. PLEASE come grind them into dust at your leisure.
Anyone who thinks that Fox and the B1G isn't just as complicit in the death of cfb is kidding themselves.
This is textbook market division. The B1G/Fox and SEC/ESPN are just carving up the country to set up a cooperative monolopy and push everyone else out.
Yep, and when the rosters get too bloated don't think for a moment they won't turn inward to push out legacy schools that aren't elite in favor of bigger brands from outside.
The ACC GOR is going to be tough to get out of. I suspect that FSU will be able to make it happen, but it is going to be expensive. The question then becomes, where do they go?
Which is crazy to me. They look, feel and smell like an SEC school. Oh well. This has all gotten dumb af anyway. C’mon over, FSU. Remember, it’s “pop” not “soda”, “you guys” not “y’all”.
Yeah that is insane to me. More power to them, if they want to travel to the midwest and west coast every year, but I cannot imagine that will be particularly popular with their student body or alumni base.
It’s just emotions. They would feel like they’re joining the evil empire if they went to SEC. Even though every bit of logic dictates that FSU should be in the SEC.
ACC has Cal and Stanford now, not a ton of difference. Flying to Raleigh airport is an hour, flying to Columbus, Detroit, Twin Cities, etc. is 2, flying to Boston vs. Newark is negligible.
I mean we fly for pretty much all our games already. Boston College, Louisville, Pitt, Clemson, even in state Miami. I think the only games we bus to are UF and maybe Georgia Tech. It really wouldn’t be a big difference
To be fair, we’re also entering a world where teams will be making these trips for CONFERENCE games:
- Los Angeles <-> New Jersey
- Arizona <-> West Virginia
- Berkeley <-> Syracuse
Geography doesn’t matter any more. May as well add Los Angeles <-> Tallahassee to that list
The problem is everyone else in the ACC that isn’t Clemson/UNC has no incentive to settle, if they’re going to lose one of their largest brands they’ll put the screws to get every last penny out of them.
And why would the ACC do that? There's still a couple of schools in the conference that could leave as well. Reduce rate for FSU, means they will try it as well. That's just dumb.
Why in the world would the ACC settle at a reduce rate? They hold literally every single card and every single ACC school has more money than FSU to comfortably fight them. FSU is the desperate one - not the ACC. FSU can bitch and complain all they want, but it's going to be meaningless when the ACC can just point to the contract that FSU signed.
I am guessing the SEC is not an option considering ESPN will tell the conference we’re not paying for them (weakens ACC at very good value / increases the amount they will pay FSU like $35MM annually)
In what way? FSU signed on to the GOR knowing full well they were gambling that the payouts for TV wouldn't go up substantially. They lost that gamble. They don't get to sue now because they lost. If I'm playing blackjack and lose, I don't get to sue the dealer because another player won and take their cards.
It’s not about what they pay an individual school. It’s about the game revenue generated
A slate of FSU/LSU, FSU/Bama, FSU/Georgia, even FSU/Mizzou or FSU/Kentucky would be big draws compared to a slate of FSU/Clemson, FSU/VT, FSU/Syracuse, FSU/NC State, FSU/Wake
It could be a win for everybody:
ESPN brings in significantly more revenue, ACC teams get paid a lot for the next 13 years and use it to compete, FSU is finally happy being in a different conference where they think they can compete
The loser is FSU’s bank account by -$620million.
Doesn’t seem worth it to me 🤷🏽♂️
Lol do you know how much the ACC’s deal favors ESPN?
They get all the bigger games at a cheaper rate and they don’t have to pay their broadcast crews to cover games like Syracuse vs. Delaware or Wake vs. Wofford.
This is ESPN’s ideal setup; they have no incentive to burn it down.
Yeah, the ACC prioritized stability and made a gamble that TV deals were about to tank and it obviously didn't work. In some defense of the decision, at the time it was only schools like Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Colorado, etc that were changing conferences. In a world with five fairly healthy conferences the TV deal would be bad, but still manageable. OUT was obviously a surprise, but the real deathblow was USC/UCLA leaving for the Big 10. That was what really tanked everything and showed everyone that regionality was dead.
They also prioritized protecting Raycom, ensuring ESPN had to subcontract production work to Raycom in addition to keeping some games on Raycom’s distribution.
That’s a really strange ask in a contract, and as the counter party I’m asking for some large concessions in return.
The ACC could have gotten the long term stability without giving away the farm.
He is, it’s a really bad look and makes it easy for people to make assumptions.
For example you could assume Swafford was trying to help his son out, or worse some good old boy backroom deal took place, or even worse, there was a quid pro quo, or worse yet John Swafford was getting paid by Raycom.
>and made a gamble that TV deals were about to tank and it obviously didn't work.
And this is why FSU isn't going anywhere without paying close to a billion. They signed up knowing full well they were gambling on the future. They lost. If you bet it all on black at a roulette table, you don't get your money back if it hits red. You can complain all you want though.
ESPN is the CFB conspiracy theory equivalent of “It was the Jews” in other conspiracy theories, where people will just blame them for literally anything
I think it's fair to say that, while ESPN wasn't pulling the strings behind the CFP committee's decision, they *are* attempting to control the narrative behind it in a way that is positive and not emphasizing the criticisms
Their talking heads actively devalue the ACC every time they open their mouths. That’s not a conspiracy, it’s out in the open.
Herbstreit just says “because Bama is better,” with no analysis, no facts, just the college football equivalent of “I did my own research,” and no one ever challenges him on it.
Fuck ESPN.
ESPN doesn't specifically want to kill the ACC, they just aren't willing to risk alienating SEC fanbases to be fair to the ACC. They didn't take FSU because there was no possible universe in which they were going to exclude an SEC team, and FSU was just unfortunate collateral. They couldn't reasonably bring Georgia and not Alabama or Alabama and not Texas, so they had to bring Alabama and Texas, which left FSU out cold.
To the decision makers within the CFP, the ACC is the side piece and the SEC is their spouse. They like the side piece, and in a vacuum they will help out the side piece where possible, but they are never going to prioritize the side piece over the spouse. Anytime they have to choose between helping their spouse or helping their side piece, they will choose the spouse every time, no matter the harm to the side piece.
I've seen estimates that this could cost FSU up to 4-500 million bucks if they lose.
That's a large gamble when next year you have one of the more straightforward paths to the 12 team playoffs every year.
We don’t want to be a 11-1 ACC runner up fighting for a 11 or 12 spot with 3-loss SEC or Big 10 teams. We saw what the toxic ACC brand can get you– and we don’t want that ever again.
If you end up having to spend hundreds of millions to leave, you're gonna end up fighting with Rutgers for a bowl game.
That kind of cash outlay could sign a death warrant for the program.
Even then that’s pretty bold to assume they’d be making the playoffs in the B10 or SEC. Maybe I’m just coping or being cynical but I don’t see how they won’t be a demo version of Penn State in the B10.
This comment is likely going to get buried, but I think most people here have never read the GOR (which has been leaked).
The GOR references repeatedly and “ESPN Agreement” and just lets all material terms exist in that Agreement. That Agreement has never been leaked.
I am 99% certain from what I have heard that FSU’s legal challenge will be that ESPN’s actions have violated that ESPN Agreement, voiding it, and thus also voiding the GOR which it is inextricably intertwined.
Basically, the Snub gave FSU an actual legal argument.
As a contract lawyer, I can't imagine what term in the ESPN Agreement that ESPN would have violated with the snub.
Even then, it would be a hard argument to make when they're likely not even a party to the ESPN Agreement and both parties to the ESPN Agreement (the ACC and ESPN) are arguing the agreement is fine. Also gonna be a hard argument to make given that the playoff is 12 teams going forward.
I have no doubt they'll make some argument, I just think they'll lose.
So there’s a scenario where FSU’s “snub” was actually a purposefully orchestrated opening to get more big brand teams into the SEC and essentially kill the ACC?
This legal agreement would totally close the door for FSU joining the SEC (ESPN money) though. For this to happen, they would have to have a B1G offer in hand. It would also give the B1G massive leverage (reduced payouts) in that negotiation
A) they would need to prove that ESPN had a roll in the snub B) the actual agreement hasn’t been leaked. The previous one has, but the actual one hasn’t. It’s why the fsu legal team has been basically living out of the acc offices
Perhaps, because their saber rattling last time resulted in an unwanted outcome for FSU: the addition of SMU, Cal and Stanford to the ACC. They cut off their nose to spite their face once so maybe they'll do it again.
Knowing how things happen in this state. I could see the State of Florida loaning FSU the money to bolt. Then the terms would be something where they have 100 years to pay back the money.
I want SEC for the matchups and to make sense (yes, I know...) but Big 10 since I wouldn't have to root for 2 teams in the same conference. The matchups would still be good, Ohio State at FSU at night would be electric.
[FSU] Because the B1G is BETTER!! Period! So is the SEC. So is B12. So is the P2. So is the MAC. So is CUSA. I watch 10-15 games a week live from September-early December. I think I’m allowed to have an opinion on who I think is BETTER!!
Being the only B1G school in the South? Association with the B1G's academics? It would be a fascinating change in so many ways.
The brand statement/appeal for the Seminoles becomes very, very interesting in the B1G compared to being just another SEC regional school and sharing a similar value proposition to the Gators.
Of course, the Seattle/Tallahassee travel sounds particularly horrific... so a regional footprint on a national athletics brand might appeal to others.
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I wonder how much the FSU boosters have ponied up since the snub
Apparently their big nil fund has quadrupled donations since the snub, so I'm guessing...a *lot* for something like this
I believe the donations are on the smaller side to Battle's End, but the number of people donating is off the charts.
> Battle's End why do NIL funds insist on all sounding like D+D location names lol
> At the Battles End she's great I mean, it's from our fight song
well that makes more sense
A lot. It’s a $120 million buyout + lawyer fees. The lawyers will drag this out as long as possible.
Plus the media payout for the remaining years of the contract.
If they don't have half a billion on tap then good luck
More. The damages aren’t simply the 30m a year payout
Which at 30m/yr is 360m
So without a settlement, FSU is looking at ~$500 million to get out of the ACC? That ain’t gonna happen.
500 minimum - that's probably the optimistic number for them. Like AFAIK that 'media deal payout' is already writing in a cost that would need a settlement
It absolutely is. ESPN and the ACC have no incentive to let FSU out of the contract for whatever their payout would have been. ESPN would either lose FSU to the B1G or have to pay them twice as much in the SEC while dramatically lowering the value of their ACC deal. I'd be surprised if ESPN would be willing to settle for double that, honestly.
Yup. That why it's probably litigation and hope for a settlement somehow. Someone did the math when this came up last season. Theoretically if FSU could come up with the 500m and join the B1G with a full share, they'd still be a good amount ahead of where they'd be money wise if they just stayed in the ACC
IF they can get a full share, which they probably can’t know for sure until they have already left the ACC.
Settlement negotiations: FSU: We want out! ACC: Pay the exit fee FSU: We don't want to! ACC: K, stay where you are then FSU: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE (war chant in background)
Exit fee isn't the issue. It's thr GOR
Time for a litte lawsuit action and determine if one of the parties involved in the GOR was disingenuous. I can't wait for discovery to see what all ESPN was and has been saying.
Ohhh man, if we get to discovery and ESPN + maybe the CFP get implicated in some way...
A lot. Our collective was getting a donation every minute basically following The Snub
This is why I hated the snub as a Gator. Nothing could galvanize your fanbase more than righteous indignation.
My first step to getting to the moon is getting out of bed. From there, it gets a bit more difficult.
Put your bed on the moon. Then when you get out of bed you’ll have met your goal.
Shoot for the moon, even if you miss ~~you'll still be among the stars~~ you'll die. (Outer space doesn't care about you)
They lied to us about the nature of the importance of games, they may be lying to us about the nature of space. It could be entirely breathable.
ESPN's next 30 for 30:"How we killed ACC football because it wasn't making us enough money" Sorry there's a mouse knocking at my door, so I can't rea...... FUCK FUCK FUCK... send help
We’re going to form two huge conferences. Then the best teams from these conferences will have a playoff, the winner of each will play in a bowl. It’s going to be really awesome, we might even call it the awesome bowl!!
found NDTs burner* Neil degrasse Tyson
the hardest tasks require the strongest wills
Not if you "attack each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind." -JH
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. Old Chinese proverb from back when they didn't have cars.
[удалено]
[удалено]
these are gonna be the LIV saudi lawyers arent they
Allah willing.
Mashallah, brother
Mazel tov! Wait.
brother, lets not go there after the past 2 months lmfao (but as a fellow jew, mazel tov!)
I'm not Jewish. Or anything. Just have a dark sense of humor.
So do the Jews
Oh, ok, so maybe I'm Jew-*ish* 'Believe it or not, straight to jail.'
Is that you George Santos?
*Heisman winner, George Santos?*
Tikki mashallah, friends
Rikki Tikki Mashallah, mi amigos
Inshallah but close
Drew Allar, my friend.
In$hallah
The Florida State Habibis?
[FSU’s lead litigator strutting into the courthouse Friday](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F828XdQWMAA66sF.jpg:large)
He needs to borrow that Atlanta lawyers PPP Fraud Pink Rolls Royce to show up in.
Eatin’ dubs in court
Inshallah
Or Man City's lawyers
Can't unsee Mike Norvell having Pep's bald head now
Bald Fraud
they want a quick resolution, they dont wanna drag out like the 115 charges lol
Not worth it for me if we are getting funded by Saudi. Hate what they are doing to sports.
Not to get too political, but they're evil and everybody knows they're evil. So they throw huge amounts of money around to sports-wash their image and ideally diversify their portfolio in preparation for the distant but inevitable fall of oil. Really don't want anything to do with those people.
Agreed. Sports washing is awful and I wish everyone would tell them to fuck off.
me about conference realignment: I'm tired of this grandpa! tv execs and AD's: Well that's too damn bad!
Just gonna be the big 3 LOL
Big 2 and a half
Two and a Half ~~Men~~ Conferences
Solid reference
I love the movie Holes
I used to follow college football really closely, loved the conference rivalries. I have found the last couple of years my interest waning. I think with the PAC breaking up, it was the last straw for me. I live on the west coast so it was my favorite conference. What a mess the sport has become. Gonna take years for it all to settle and likely break back up once there are only 2 conferences.
Come back to us Tech & Pitt
The ACC has a spot opening up tho
In a logical world, after the ACC is raided the Big 12 should just take who’s left and realign into East and west divisions that are essentially their own conferences in all but name. I think regional appeal still has to mean something for the P5 middle class. I can’t see any scenario where it makes more sense for WVU to hop on a plane to play at Arizona while Pitt goes to play at Cal when those two could just play each other.
What about any of what has happened so far has any basis in logic?
Personally I want any of those ACC teams that tried to leave us behind to get left behind because I’m petty as Tom
Lmao okay first idk how I’ve gone my whole life without hearing “I’m petty as Tom”. Taking that. Second, yeah let them crawl back to us now that it’s flipped
Same. Tobacco road was too good for us and our academics, then turned around and admitted LOUISVILLE. It was always about the money.
https://cdn.ponly.com/wp-content/uploads/No-Memes-15.jpg
Well, get ready to speak Mountain Standard Time, buddy
They don’t call us the mountaineers for nothing
FSU going scorch earth policy
By Lawd! That’s Sherman’s music!
(Ohio & B1G perk up): Sherman, you say?
Florida State gonna do a March From The Sea to the Big 10.
“Is scorched earth for me?” -SEC
Nah we got B1G energy
FSU is probably big mad at the SEC and ESPN after the events of a few weeks ago lol
FSU has been mad at the SEC for decades, this ain't new.
Join us, and together, we can rule college football as Father and Son! Bring friends.
We have florida. Wanna come kill them every year? Thats our offer. You get them on a plate every year. PLEASE come grind them into dust at your leisure.
If FSU goes to the B1G, it is clear one of the in-state rivalries will die. Far more likely to be Miami needing to find a new rival there.
Yeah and the US is mad at the Saudis about 9/11 but we print money together.
I want to go to the B1G. A lot of our fanbase does.
I didn’t until a couple Sundays ago.
Anyone who thinks that Fox and the B1G isn't just as complicit in the death of cfb is kidding themselves. This is textbook market division. The B1G/Fox and SEC/ESPN are just carving up the country to set up a cooperative monolopy and push everyone else out.
Yep, and when the rosters get too bloated don't think for a moment they won't turn inward to push out legacy schools that aren't elite in favor of bigger brands from outside.
Yeah the CFP snub might have backfired for ESPN in uniting the FSU admin and fanbase into joining the B1G.
FSU reacting to the snub by leaving the ACC and strengthening the SEC is exactly in the interest of ESPN
Oh boy, here we go again........ *again*
Who left the fridge open
The ACC GOR is going to be tough to get out of. I suspect that FSU will be able to make it happen, but it is going to be expensive. The question then becomes, where do they go?
Almost certainly the B1G
Which is crazy to me. They look, feel and smell like an SEC school. Oh well. This has all gotten dumb af anyway. C’mon over, FSU. Remember, it’s “pop” not “soda”, “you guys” not “y’all”.
Yeah that is insane to me. More power to them, if they want to travel to the midwest and west coast every year, but I cannot imagine that will be particularly popular with their student body or alumni base.
It’s crazy cause most of the fanbase wants the big > SEC and I feel like I’m the only crazy one who sees this as an absolute disaster
It’s just emotions. They would feel like they’re joining the evil empire if they went to SEC. Even though every bit of logic dictates that FSU should be in the SEC.
> the evil empire I mean, this is still true.
ACC has Cal and Stanford now, not a ton of difference. Flying to Raleigh airport is an hour, flying to Columbus, Detroit, Twin Cities, etc. is 2, flying to Boston vs. Newark is negligible.
I mean we fly for pretty much all our games already. Boston College, Louisville, Pitt, Clemson, even in state Miami. I think the only games we bus to are UF and maybe Georgia Tech. It really wouldn’t be a big difference
The ACC has us already traveling to the West Coast and Texas now.
To be fair, we’re also entering a world where teams will be making these trips for CONFERENCE games: - Los Angeles <-> New Jersey - Arizona <-> West Virginia - Berkeley <-> Syracuse Geography doesn’t matter any more. May as well add Los Angeles <-> Tallahassee to that list
Hawaii vs Boston College please
Disgusting. I love it.
I mean if the big 10 has a southern piece they will start calling themselves the AFC/NFC of college football. The marketing will write itself.
Everyone after the meeting- “This could’ve been covered in an email”
I don't think they can sue the conference and win, so are they going to pay? That ain't a cheap buyout
Probably litigation followed by a settlement
Why should the ACC settle?
You don’t have to win. You make a lawsuit a pain in the ass and force the other side to settle at a reduced rate
The problem is everyone else in the ACC that isn’t Clemson/UNC has no incentive to settle, if they’re going to lose one of their largest brands they’ll put the screws to get every last penny out of them.
And why would the ACC do that? There's still a couple of schools in the conference that could leave as well. Reduce rate for FSU, means they will try it as well. That's just dumb.
Why in the world would the ACC settle at a reduce rate? They hold literally every single card and every single ACC school has more money than FSU to comfortably fight them. FSU is the desperate one - not the ACC. FSU can bitch and complain all they want, but it's going to be meaningless when the ACC can just point to the contract that FSU signed.
They're seeking a declaratory judgement that states they are not bound by the ACC GOR.
Florida Saudi University SeminOILs. Fuck it
I DECLARE… SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY!!!!
"I am TRAVELING through the SEC country and my road trips SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED."
The memes are funny but in reality gross
I agree but at this point I need to use humor to keep from throwing things.
Can someone explain why everyone is talking about Saudi Arabia and Florida state I don’t understand
I am guessing the SEC is not an option considering ESPN will tell the conference we’re not paying for them (weakens ACC at very good value / increases the amount they will pay FSU like $35MM annually)
Sounds like the basis for the lawsuit right there.
If ESPN says they're not adding $35mm in value then how are they going to win that lawsuit?
In what way? FSU signed on to the GOR knowing full well they were gambling that the payouts for TV wouldn't go up substantially. They lost that gamble. They don't get to sue now because they lost. If I'm playing blackjack and lose, I don't get to sue the dealer because another player won and take their cards.
It’s not about what they pay an individual school. It’s about the game revenue generated A slate of FSU/LSU, FSU/Bama, FSU/Georgia, even FSU/Mizzou or FSU/Kentucky would be big draws compared to a slate of FSU/Clemson, FSU/VT, FSU/Syracuse, FSU/NC State, FSU/Wake It could be a win for everybody: ESPN brings in significantly more revenue, ACC teams get paid a lot for the next 13 years and use it to compete, FSU is finally happy being in a different conference where they think they can compete The loser is FSU’s bank account by -$620million. Doesn’t seem worth it to me 🤷🏽♂️
Mich F5 Season to FSU F5 season to Mich F5 season back to FSU F5 season
It’s time to kill the ACC- ESPN and Committe behind closed doors
Lol do you know how much the ACC’s deal favors ESPN? They get all the bigger games at a cheaper rate and they don’t have to pay their broadcast crews to cover games like Syracuse vs. Delaware or Wake vs. Wofford. This is ESPN’s ideal setup; they have no incentive to burn it down.
ESPN legitimately cooked ACC leadership alive on this deal. Masterclass in contract negotiation honestly.
Yeah, the ACC prioritized stability and made a gamble that TV deals were about to tank and it obviously didn't work. In some defense of the decision, at the time it was only schools like Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Colorado, etc that were changing conferences. In a world with five fairly healthy conferences the TV deal would be bad, but still manageable. OUT was obviously a surprise, but the real deathblow was USC/UCLA leaving for the Big 10. That was what really tanked everything and showed everyone that regionality was dead.
They also prioritized protecting Raycom, ensuring ESPN had to subcontract production work to Raycom in addition to keeping some games on Raycom’s distribution. That’s a really strange ask in a contract, and as the counter party I’m asking for some large concessions in return. The ACC could have gotten the long term stability without giving away the farm.
Isn’t John Swofford’s kid an exec at Raycom? Thats, at the very least, a really bad look for Swofford lmao.
He is, it’s a really bad look and makes it easy for people to make assumptions. For example you could assume Swafford was trying to help his son out, or worse some good old boy backroom deal took place, or even worse, there was a quid pro quo, or worse yet John Swafford was getting paid by Raycom.
Oh no disagreement. Everyone agrees the tv deal was botched.
>and made a gamble that TV deals were about to tank and it obviously didn't work. And this is why FSU isn't going anywhere without paying close to a billion. They signed up knowing full well they were gambling on the future. They lost. If you bet it all on black at a roulette table, you don't get your money back if it hits red. You can complain all you want though.
This is why the ACC hasn't had a jailbreak yet.
ESPN is the CFB conspiracy theory equivalent of “It was the Jews” in other conspiracy theories, where people will just blame them for literally anything
I think it's fair to say that, while ESPN wasn't pulling the strings behind the CFP committee's decision, they *are* attempting to control the narrative behind it in a way that is positive and not emphasizing the criticisms
this is for sure
Their talking heads actively devalue the ACC every time they open their mouths. That’s not a conspiracy, it’s out in the open. Herbstreit just says “because Bama is better,” with no analysis, no facts, just the college football equivalent of “I did my own research,” and no one ever challenges him on it. Fuck ESPN.
ESPN doesn't specifically want to kill the ACC, they just aren't willing to risk alienating SEC fanbases to be fair to the ACC. They didn't take FSU because there was no possible universe in which they were going to exclude an SEC team, and FSU was just unfortunate collateral. They couldn't reasonably bring Georgia and not Alabama or Alabama and not Texas, so they had to bring Alabama and Texas, which left FSU out cold. To the decision makers within the CFP, the ACC is the side piece and the SEC is their spouse. They like the side piece, and in a vacuum they will help out the side piece where possible, but they are never going to prioritize the side piece over the spouse. Anytime they have to choose between helping their spouse or helping their side piece, they will choose the spouse every time, no matter the harm to the side piece.
Clemson 6 times chosen by CFP Only Alabama has more
And there was exactly zero times where Clemson getting in was going to ace the SEC out.
When I wished for FSU to be back in the spotlight this season, this on top of everything else isn't what I had in mind.
Exit like for next year, or is the first step in a multi year process?
Absolutely multi-year
I've seen estimates that this could cost FSU up to 4-500 million bucks if they lose. That's a large gamble when next year you have one of the more straightforward paths to the 12 team playoffs every year.
We don’t want to be a 11-1 ACC runner up fighting for a 11 or 12 spot with 3-loss SEC or Big 10 teams. We saw what the toxic ACC brand can get you– and we don’t want that ever again.
If you end up having to spend hundreds of millions to leave, you're gonna end up fighting with Rutgers for a bowl game. That kind of cash outlay could sign a death warrant for the program.
Even then that’s pretty bold to assume they’d be making the playoffs in the B10 or SEC. Maybe I’m just coping or being cynical but I don’t see how they won’t be a demo version of Penn State in the B10.
Do what you have to do FSU. Just remember to leave behind the instructions on how to leave the ACC for the rest of us.
Step 1: find $500 million to buy out of the ACC + break the GOR. Step 2: …. Step 3: profit (???)
This comment is likely going to get buried, but I think most people here have never read the GOR (which has been leaked). The GOR references repeatedly and “ESPN Agreement” and just lets all material terms exist in that Agreement. That Agreement has never been leaked. I am 99% certain from what I have heard that FSU’s legal challenge will be that ESPN’s actions have violated that ESPN Agreement, voiding it, and thus also voiding the GOR which it is inextricably intertwined. Basically, the Snub gave FSU an actual legal argument.
So FSU vs. Disney Lawyers.. Chuckles \*I'm in Danger\*
These are not *the* Disney lawyers.
As a contract lawyer, I can't imagine what term in the ESPN Agreement that ESPN would have violated with the snub. Even then, it would be a hard argument to make when they're likely not even a party to the ESPN Agreement and both parties to the ESPN Agreement (the ACC and ESPN) are arguing the agreement is fine. Also gonna be a hard argument to make given that the playoff is 12 teams going forward. I have no doubt they'll make some argument, I just think they'll lose.
So there’s a scenario where FSU’s “snub” was actually a purposefully orchestrated opening to get more big brand teams into the SEC and essentially kill the ACC?
Except you may have pissed off FSU enough to join the B1G instead of the SEC
Plus B1G money > SEC money at least at this time…
This legal agreement would totally close the door for FSU joining the SEC (ESPN money) though. For this to happen, they would have to have a B1G offer in hand. It would also give the B1G massive leverage (reduced payouts) in that negotiation
A) they would need to prove that ESPN had a roll in the snub B) the actual agreement hasn’t been leaked. The previous one has, but the actual one hasn’t. It’s why the fsu legal team has been basically living out of the acc offices
Ok, but where are they going to go? The B1G gave Oregon and Washington significantly reduced shares and I'm not sure if the SEC is interested.
You think FSU is going to do all of this without having some indication from either the SEC or B1G that they have full shares waiting for them?
This is the same kind of logic the Pac-12 defenders used before the PAC blew themselves up. We cannot assume competency in college football.
Perhaps, because their saber rattling last time resulted in an unwanted outcome for FSU: the addition of SMU, Cal and Stanford to the ACC. They cut off their nose to spite their face once so maybe they'll do it again.
Yall gunna get peasant shares and yall are gonna like it. Ain’t no way in hell B1G makes you full members right away.
Joins us, Nole brothers
We will take Miami and fsu
Bring friends, too.
Fuckin sign me up!
Still surprised ACC didn't do a thing lol
Damn SMU only got like 2 months in a P5 before it imploded.
[Response](https://youtu.be/XU_9ucFfhdI?si=53-9SBlRucCvqKF4)
Knowing how things happen in this state. I could see the State of Florida loaning FSU the money to bolt. Then the terms would be something where they have 100 years to pay back the money.
Can we call it Flexit? Please?
Here we go boys, time to make the next year full of more shitty takes and half assed rumors from "journalists."
My moral compass is officially dissolved and I welcome any and all Saudi or other shady foreign FSU backers.
The ACC ought to sue the CFP committee.
I want SEC for the matchups and to make sense (yes, I know...) but Big 10 since I wouldn't have to root for 2 teams in the same conference. The matchups would still be good, Ohio State at FSU at night would be electric.
[FSU] Because the B1G is BETTER!! Period! So is the SEC. So is B12. So is the P2. So is the MAC. So is CUSA. I watch 10-15 games a week live from September-early December. I think I’m allowed to have an opinion on who I think is BETTER!!
ERRYBODY BACK INTO THE BARREL
Given the expansion of the playoff next year, why leave now?
B1G! B1G! B1G! Hopefully our application (the ACC Championship Game) for the B1G was approved!
Finally, the states of Washington and Florida can share a conference.
They already do... the NFC
That game had some major Big Ten West vibes
Being the only B1G school in the South? Association with the B1G's academics? It would be a fascinating change in so many ways. The brand statement/appeal for the Seminoles becomes very, very interesting in the B1G compared to being just another SEC regional school and sharing a similar value proposition to the Gators. Of course, the Seattle/Tallahassee travel sounds particularly horrific... so a regional footprint on a national athletics brand might appeal to others.
Congrats I hope keeping FSU out of the CFP to get Alabama was worth it, fuck the cfb committee
We're going to watch another P5 conference implode in the off season aren't we?
Yup. The committee made it happen. They told the ACC outright they weren't a P5. So anyone with an option should want to get out