Will the ACC expand? There aren’t necessarily attractive candidates to add from either a geographic or national interest standpoint. More teams means more money from ESPN though, so talks are intensifying.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that ESPN pro rata clause with the ACC states that each team added to the conference will increase the TV deal by one Tier 1 share. There are three tiers to a full revenue share in the ACC. Tier 1 is worth about 70% of the total, which is believed to be near $24 million.
The conference has kicked the tires on adding Cal and Stanford. SMU is also under consideration to join the conference. That would make expansion worth as much as $72 million to ESPN and the ACC.
In order to find a new, more stable home, all three schools have reportedly agreed to take a lower payout. Cal and Stanford are said to be willing to take a reduced share starting at about 30% for multiple years.
SMU is reportedly willing to take no distribution for up to seven years. That would almost certainly placate the concerns of the seven schools seeking unbalanced rights fees in order to keep pace with media revenue generated by the Big Ten and SEC.
Currently, the ACC is locked into a media rights deal with ESPN that runs through the end of 2036. Schools receive $30-35 million annually under the terms of that deal.
