Florida State threatens to leave ACC due to revenue distribution

Florida State president Richard McCullough made a strong statement on Wednesday during the school's board of trustees meeting, threatening to potentially leave the ACC if the league doesn't modify its revenue distribution.

"I believe that FSU will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC, unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution," McCullough said, according to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.

McCullough highlighted his football program's competitiveness as a potential concern under the ACC's current structure.

"We currently face a very difficult situation," he added. "We are seeing large media deals that have been made with places like the Big Ten and the SEC, which in many ways is ... an existential crisis perhaps for Florida State University. ... Without increasing revenue, we will face major challenges to be able to compete in football."

McCullough says he has no doubt that Florida State - which has a deal with ESPN that runs through 2036 - deserves more financially.

"We are one of the best media-valued teams in the United States," McCullough said. "We, along with Clemson and others, help to carry the value of media rights in the ACC. No offense to my colleagues. That's just the numbers."

He continued: "We, of course, are not satisfied with our current situation. We love the ACC. We love our partners at ESPN."

Florida State would have to pay a $120-million exit fee to leave the ACC and challenge its current grant of rights, according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson.

McCullough's comments come amid a series of realignments in college sports. Last year, Big 12 powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma decided to join the SEC in 2024, while the Big Ten is welcoming USC and UCLA from the Pac-12. Colorado is also leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12, which recently added new members in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF.

Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah are among other Pac-12 schools that have been linked to the Big 12. The Big Ten is also reportedly considering adding two or four schools from the Pac-12, including Oregon and Washington.

The Pac-12 has been negotiating a new media rights deal, as the conference's current package is set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season. Here's each conference's current payout situation:

"It's not a matter of if we leave, in my opinion. It's a matter of who and when we leave. Not everyone may agree with that, but I feel really strongly about it," former Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford said Wednesday. He's a member of the school's board of trustees.

Florida State football is coming off a 10-3 season, its best record since 2016. The Seminoles are 18-16 under head coach Mike Norvell, who signed an extension through the 2029 season in February.