Florida State AD Michael Alford makes feelings known on ACC's revenue sharing, release clause rule changes: "Everything’s defined"

The Florida State Seminoles and the Clemson Tigers were at the vanguard of the push to break the ACC's ironclad grant of rights agreement as conference expansion and realignment moves gripped college sports. The two schools sued the conference to settle the matter.

On March 4, the ACC and the two schools reached a settlement that would see the conference's revenue distribution model changed to favor the schools that attracted more viewers rather than the equitable distribution of the past.

In an interview with "Warchant" on Tuesday, Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said the new settlement with the ACC was more clear-cut for the programs that constitute the conference.

“There’s so many different scenarios out there,” Alford said. “You just wanted to be able to have the opportunities to participate in whatever scenario comes into play. …

"We’re still signed up to 2036, but we have it defined now. Everything’s defined, where before it was not defined — what your opportunities were and what the timeline of all the different opportunities could come into play.”

Florida State can compete against richer conferences

According to ESPN, the increase in payouts due to Florida State and Clemson could breach the $18 million mark annually and during an interview with "Warchant," Michael Alford revealed the impact of the increased payouts.

“It is going to give us the ability if you go out to perform and anyone, any school in our conference can earn it, to go out and perform and schedule those games to get those ratings should get you close to competing nationally amongst the other two conferences,” Alford said.

The issue of how schools can exit the ACC in a less financially strenuous manner than before was also defined in the agreement between the conference and the wantaway programs.

In the new settlement, any school that wishes to leave the ACC will pay an exit fee of $165 million starting this year which will reduce up to a minimum of $75 million during the 2030-2031 fiscal year.

Most of the existing television deals for the wealthier conferences in the country including the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference that the Seminoles have been linked to expire between 2030 and 2034, making the settlement more intriguing for the Clemson Tigers and Florida State.