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The Clemson Tigers are the latest school to sue the Atlantic Coast Conference, doing so Tuesday with the main reason being an attempt to leave the conference. This is not the only lawsuit that the ACC is dealing with as it's in a similar legal battle with the Florida State Seminoles.
The lawsuit states several complaints, including revenue sharing models not being sufficient enough to stay:
"Each of these erroneous assertions separately hinders Clemson's ability to meaningfully explore its options regarding conference membership, to negotiate alternative revenue-sharing proposals among ACC members, and to obtain full value for its future media rights. ... Without clarity as to its legal rights and obligations, Clemson cannot protect and advance its interests, or the interests of its student-athletes, in current and ongoing negotiations within the Conference." h/t Sports Business Journal
The Clemson Tigers want to leave the ACC, and the grant of rights deal is blocking them from doing so as it would cost an estimated $572 million for them to depart. The school has the same issues as Florida State but has been taking a quieter approach to the situation.
Does ACC own Clemson's media rights if the Tigers leave the conference?
The question of whether the Atlantic Coast Conference holds media rights even if Clemson leaves the league is a big part of the lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The understanding is that the grant of rights deal encompasses the Clemson Tigers' media rights until the current media rights deal expires. This is critical to how the school will approach the next steps of potentially leaving the conference.
If the ACC were to no longer have the Clemson Tigers under its umbrella, it would not be able to collect any media rights that the new conference would get.
One of the bigger situations that unfolded through the Florida State lawsuit is the question of when the media rights deal expires. The deal ESPN has signed contains an option for 2027 that would need to be exercised by February 2025 to extend the deal to 2036.
