Could Florida State leave the ACC? Exploring the Grant of Rights deal and potential move to SEC with Stanford, Cal, and SMU joining the ACC

Florida State has been pushing to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference for more than a year. The university officials have been very vocal about the intention to leave the conference and the Board of Regents has held meetings to discuss the possibility of an exit.

The Seminoles are not happy with the revenue distribution model of the conference, which doesn't take the influence and marketability of teams into account. Florida State earns the same amount in conference distribution as a couple of other smaller teams in the league.

The length of the ongoing ACC media rights with ESPN also doesn't excite the university. The television broadcast deal runs until 2036, which means the Seminoles and its ACC counterparts will earn the same amount in media revenue for the next 13 years.

What does it take for Florida State to leave the ACC?

Leaving the ACC is an expensive and lengthy process for its members as a result of the conference's grant of rights. The Seminoles will be required to pay $120 million as an exit fee to leave the conference. This will be the biggest exit fee in college sports history.

Florida State will also have to proceed to court to challenge the grant of rights that belongs to ESPN. This will undoubtedly result in a lengthy legal battle between the school and the television network, which will obviously further delay the school’s realignment process.

However, there's a belief that it could be easy if the Seminoles move to a league where ESPN owns the television rights. There's been a lot of rumors linking the school to the Southeastern Conference where ESPN owns the media rights. This will be much easier for the university than moving to the Big Ten.

Will ACC expansion aid the Seminoles' exit plan?

The ACC has been working on a potential expansion in the last few weeks. The league is looking to add Stanford and Cal from the Pac-12 as well as SMU from the AAC. However, this has been met with opposition from a couple of member schools, including Florida State.

Nonetheless, the latest reports suggest that the three expansion candidates have secured enough support from members to be admitted into the league. Following the realignment, the Seminoles are expected to further intensify their push to leave the conference.

It might come easier for the university now, as the ACC already mitigated the possibility of renegotiating their media deal should the Seminoles eventually leave. Florida State is expected to leave alongside Clemson when the realignment move eventually becomes a reality.