"That's when everything could go kaboom!" - Josh Pate breaks down ACC's future with Clemson and FSU staying the course

The long-running saga in the ACC involving the Clemson Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles, suing the conference to be let out of their ironclad media rights deal, concluded when the parties agreed to a settlement on Wednesday. In the settlement, elite football programs like the Tigers and Seminoles will garner a larger revenue share based on a new TV ratings-based model.

The exit fee from the conference will also decrease annually, starting at $165 million next year and reducing to $75 million in 2031, allowing teams to break the previously ironclad media rights deal.

During Thursday's "Josh Pate's College Football Show," CBS analyst Josh Pate predicted the conference's future once teams run down the clock on the substantial exit fee.

"The important part here is, the exit fee, the money you'd have to pay to leave the conference drops every year and it settles at $75 million to leave the conference in 2031," Pate said (Timestamp: 2:30). "Remember that date, remember that year. It's gonna be talked about for the next half-decade.

"2031, which seems like it's a long way away now. ... It's not that far away. That's when everything goes kaboom. That's when everything could go kaboom and in ACC terms, that's when everyone could hit the exit door affordably."

Analyst predicts ACC problems after settlement

After the settlement, the new TV-ratings-based model in the ACC will see the historic marquee teams like the Florida State Seminoles and the Clemson Tigers receive more money from the media rights deal.

During the latest segment of "Always College Football," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy predicted disgruntlement among other teams in the conference due to the agreement.

"Yes, you calm the waters with the Tigers and the Seminoles," McElroy said. "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. Because guess what, if Virginia decides to write a check in 2030 to leave the ACC, you know who's going to want them? The same can be said for North Carolina."

The recent conference expansion and realignment moves in college sports have put various conferences in jeopardy due to more lucrative media rights deals in the bigger conferences and the ACC got a stay of execution by agreeing to the settlement deal with FSU and Clemson.