Paul Finebaum dishes hard dose of reality after FSU's public dissatisfaction with the ACC
Several members of the Florida State Board of Trustees, and even FSU President Richard McCullough, spoke on Wednesday about Florida State needing to get out of the ACC.
However, as ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum pointed out on Thursday, actually making the move and leaving the conference is easier said than done due to the Grant of Rights.
It’s clear that Florida State wants out of the ACC. It’s not clear if doing so is an actual option.
“It’s not simple. But what you heard there from the president is extraordinary,” Finebaum said. “You’re talking about a member of a league that just a couple of years ago agreed to a Grant of Rights deal, a television deal, that took them to 2036. FSU signed off on that. Now you have the president saying, ‘You know what, we don’t like it. We want out.’ I mean he put a for sale sign in front of his university yesterday.”
Finebaum added that even if ACC teams do find a way out of the Grant of Rights, Florida State isn’t necessarily the top option for another conference.
Yes, FSU has been the most vocal about leaving the ACC, but Clemson is arguably more desirable for other leagues. Of course it’s possible that Clemson and Florida State could leave the conference together.
“You also have Clemson in that league, Mr. President. I hate to break it to you, but you’re not the epicenter of the ACC. Clemson is,” Finebaum said. “And what I think is going on with all this movement, they are trying to find an exit strategy.”
Florida State and Clemson have dominated the league since FSU joined in 1992. The Seminoles have won 15 ACC titles and three national titles during that time, while Clemson has won eight ACC titles and two national titles since 2011 under Dabo Swinney.
Finebaum expects Florida State, Clemson and others to continue to try to find a way out of the conference. But he’s not convinced that doing so is an actual option.
“Right now it would cost them at least $120 million and still possible litigation to get out of the current deal. But they’re hoping to get some support from Clemson, maybe North Carolina, maybe Miami,” Finebaum said. “There are not a lot of happy people in the ACC, because with the shifting tides with the SEC and the Big Ten becoming the two super conferences, and now the Big 12 moving ahead of the Pac-12 and the ACC – right now the ACC is the fourth-best conference. And Florida State and Clemson want no part of that.”