Dabo Swinney takes a stance on Clemson’s ACC settlement

Clemson and other top schools like Florida State in ACC have been negotiating to make changes to the revenue-sharing model. College football is all about money these days, thus, it is not surprising to see schools negotiate to get as big a piece of the pie as they can.

The ACC officially changed its revenue-sharing model following the 2024 season. Under the new system, 40% of TV revenue will be evenly distributed between all ACC teams. The other 60% will be distributed based on TV ratings. As a result, higher-performing schools, like Clemson and Florida State, will earn more money.

This change in revenue sharing could reportedly result in top-performing schools earning more than $15 million from TV revenue, whereas the lowest-performing schools could earn less than $7 million. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney gave his opinion on the new system on Saturday.

"Yeah, it’s just all part of it," Swinney said. "That’s what all those lawyers get paid for. They meet and settle all that stuff. That’s why I guess it was called a settlement. You know, all those people had to figure out what they were going to agree on, so hey, it’s great. You know, my job is just to go see if we can win the competition."

This battle between Clemson, Florida State and the ACC has been brewing for months. It started when the Tigers and Seminoles challenged the ACC's Grant of Rights agreement. They argued that it restricted their ability to compete financially with top schools in the Big Ten and SEC.

Greg McElroy believes this ACC settlement with Clemson and Florida State will not be helpful in the long term

The ACC settlement may satisfy Clemson and Florida State for the time being. However, there are doubts that it will be effective long term. Greg McElroy spoke on his podcast this week about why he thinks it could be a band-aid solution.

"Yes, you calm the waters with the Tigers and the Seminoles, but now do you potentially take money out of Virginia? Out of their bottom line? Because I don't think that'd be a very good play long-term," McElroy said.

McElroy went on to point out that teams like North Carolina and Virginia have significant realignment leverage because of their appeal to the SEC and Big Ten. If they choose to leave, it could lead to the collapse of the ACC, similar to the Pac-12.