$140 million exit fee triggers Clemson to slap ACC with massive lawsuit kickstarting new wave of conference realignment: Reports

According to court records from Picken County in South Carolina, the Clemson Tigers have joined the Florida State Seminoles in suing the Atlantic Coast Conference.

This Seminoles and the Tigers are suing the conference for the same reason. Both want to leave the conference without paying an estimated $572 million fee to break the Grant of Rights deal.

Clemson issued the suit against the ACC because of the Grant of Rights deal. The school noted it in the court document in plain English without referring to the actual term.

"The ACC's actions interfere with Clemson's free exercise of its rights and ae fatally detrimental to Clemson's efforts to ensure that its athletic prorgrams cancontinue to compete at the highest level, which is critically important to Clemson even beyond athletics." h/t Sports Illustrated

It was earlier revealed that the Tigers were one of the "Magnificent Seven" schools exploring a potential exit from the ACC in 2036. Clemson is reportedly in contact with Florida State to discuss their future and potential exit from the conference.

We will continue to monitor the situation as more details emerge.

What should we expect the future of the ACC and Clemson to look like?

The future of the ACC does not look great at the moment, as the two biggest programs in the conference want out. With an ongoing legal battle, people can argue this is worse than what the Pac-12 had gone through. However, the future of the conference depends on the court case going on right now.

The future of the Clemson Tigers relies on the court case as well. If the Grant of Rights deal is deemed unlawful, the school need not pay the massive exit fee and instead leave on its own accord. It could then join the Florida State Seminoles and decide how to step up and join a new conference.

If the courts rule in favor of the conference, this will get pushed back by a decade.