Will Florida State leave the ACC? $120 million Grant of Rights deal becomes a major roadblock for SEC expansion in the hunt for Seminoles

Florida State hasn't hidden its intentions to exit the Atlantic Coast Conference as the college football world continues to evolve. The Seminoles have been working on a potential realignment for more than a year and are desperate to get it done soon.

The university's top officials have also recently commented on the need to move away from the ACC to remain competitive. This is unless there's a radical change in the way the conference distributes its revenue.

Speaking to the board of trustees, President Richard McCollough said:

"We are not satisfied with our current situation. We love the ACC and our partners at ESPN. Our goal would be to stay in the ACC, but staying in the ACC under the current situation is hard for us to figure out how to remain competitive unless there were a major change in the revenue distribution. That has not happened."

However, having to pay a total sum of $120 million as an exit fee to bolt the ACC remains a stumbling block for Florida State. That is three times the figure ACC teams receive as conference distribution and would be a record payment for conference exit in college sports.

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Florida State Board of Trustees agree on the need to move

ACC Media Day Football

There seems to be a consensus within the Florida State Board of Trustees on the need to realign with a more financially buoyant conference. The fact that the current ACC media deal runs until 2036 doesn't financially put the university in a good place.

Everyone found common ground during the board of trustees meeting earlier this month. Trustee Deborah Sargent believes the university has to do whatever is needed to keep it a force to reckon with in the college sports landscape:

"We have to keep our lifeline going. We don't want to have to do this, but we have to do what it takes to compete. I think we need to believe in ourselves and what we have."

Trustee Justin Roth also added that the timing of the ACC television contract doesn't place the university in a good position. Earning the same television money for the next 13 years will keep Florida State and its fellow ACC members out of competition.

"We would all love if every single planet aligned perfectly, and tomorrow our TV contract ended, and all three conferences or more conferences were offering us a deal, and we could figure out what we want to do. But no matter what we do, that timing's not going to line up,” Roth said.

Notably, the conference exit fee isn't as huge as earlier thought. College football insider Greg Swaim previously reported that the university was negotiating a $300 million buyout from the conference. However, it appears $120 million could get it done.