Clemson football: What it would take financially to leave the ACC

Many Clemson football fans have expressed their interest in seeing the Tigers potentially jump ship from the ACC in favor of joining a rumored SEC super conference and, on the surface, it sounds absolutely intriguing.

Over the past few days, we’ve written countless posts about Clemson and the SEC and what that could look like. We’ve taken looks at conference realignment and what might be going on behind-the-scenes as this Texas-Oklahoma deal seems to just be the surface.

That being said, there is a logistical standpoint to this whole conversation that needs to be addressed.

Leaving the ACC is nearly impossible for Clemson football, but we won’t say ‘never’

So, let’s say that the SEC did come calling and the conference wanted to poach Clemson, in addition to another school like Florida State, to create a super conference.

On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. Clemson and Florida State would make somewhere around $50+ million per year and that would be an upgrade of more than $15 million per year that they are making through the ACC’s current television revenue.

But, this isn’t NCAA Football 14. You can’t just leave a conference on a whim.

The ACC has an ‘exit fee’ to leave the conference set right at about $52 million. I know what you’re thinking here: What’s the big deal? Clemson would make enough off its first year of television revenue payout in the SEC to cover that ‘exit fee’ and there’s a chance that the SEC would even pitch in to help.

While that exit number is doable, it’s the league’s Grant of Rights agreement that all but keeps schools locked into the conference.

For those who are unfamiliar, a Grant of Rights agreement is written permission from an institution- like Clemson- to relinquish control of television rights for the duration of the deal. The ACC’s deal is set to expire in 2036. If you leave the ACC, you forfeit the television earnings. So, when you total what Clemson might make off its ACC television payout, you’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

That is, unless, you find a loophole in court.

Lawyers have their ways of resolving conflicts like this and doing so in a way that is mutually beneficial. In addition, the one thing you’ve got to keep in mind here is that ESPN owns the ACC Network and the SEC Network. If the owner of the ACC Network- ie. ESPN- came to the conference and pushed to work out a deal to allow Clemson football to join the SEC, you’ve got to believe a deal would get done.

But, would ESPN sink one of its own properties- the ACC Network certainly wouldn’t hold the same prestige without Clemson- to make one of its more profitable properties- ie. the SEC Network and its revenue- even better?

The only way we see that happening is if ESPN is the one behind conference expansion and, if that’s the case, the network would be looking to build a brand that transcends anything we’ve seen in College Football before.

So, keeping it short. Could Clemson leave the ACC to join the SEC? Yes, it’s possible.

However, the finances lost- and we’re talking hundreds of millions- without some sort of a deal being reached outside of previous contractual agreements would be absolutely detrimental and in no way beneficial to the Tigers for many years to come.

That’s why these rumors, though they’re interesting, aren’t likely to carry much weight in the end.