Clemson football: Finebaum says Tigers should leave ACC for SEC or Big Ten

It’s always tough when I agree with Paul Finebaum, but this makes twice this summer.

Well, he’s at it again, but this time what he says makes sense.  It’s not always that way and I like to think of my relationship with Paul Finebaum is “hate/hate” not “love/hate”.

As I’ve told you before though, I’m not above admitting when the guy is right, as he is in this article.

"“If you go four or five years ahead when the new ESPN-SEC deal goes into effect, it’s not in effect yet, when the new Big Ten deal (goes into effect) … you’re going to be doling out somewhere between $100 million and $125 million to every team in the SEC and the Big Ten,” Finebaum said. “The ACC, if it’s lucky, it’s going to be between $45 to $50 million. There’s a cap on those deals. The ACC has a deal with ESPN right now that runs through, I think, 2034. You can’t change that until, if Notre Dame jumps into the league. I’m not sure how much even that would change because Notre Dame has got the NBC affiliation."

If it’s lucky.  Yep, old Paul and I are on the same page here and it’s difficult for me to see how anybody can continue to say it’s a good thing to stay in the ACC.

"“These are game-changers. Dabo Swinney, who has the best program in that league, is going to get squeezed out. We don’t know where the CFP is going right now. You have to think that is going to be back on the table. There is so much in flux. You’re always going to see a lot of movement. As you guys know, Oregon and Washington are reportedly looking to the Big Ten as well. They add a lot of value. Nobody is USC. Let’s be honest, but they’re good. That would leave the Pac-12 with virtually nothing.”"

Clemson is the most valuable program in the ACC by far

Finebaum goes on to say that he believes North Carolina, not Florida State or Miami is the second most valuable asset in the ACC.

Some have suggested Georgia Tech is also a valuable commodity given the Atlanta market and while that could be true to an extent, one would have to believe given the relative position of the programs Georgia dominates the Atlanta market despite the fact the Yellow Jackets reside there.

There’s more to come on realignment in the next week, I’m sure.