Darren Yamashita / USA TODAY Sports
The ACC has renewed conversations of adding California, Stanford and SMU, according multiple reports. There is renewed optimism that Cal and Stanford can make a deal with the ACC, sources subsequently told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
A group of ACC presidents met Wednesday morning to discuss potential financial models that could make sense. If admitted, the schools would come at a far lower price point: Cal and Stanford would receive an equal lesser shares, while SMU is supposedly willing to abstain from media payouts for up to seven years, per ESPN.
The addition of three schools would unlock further compensation from television partners, according to ESPN. But with the three potential additions willing to take less money — one of them none at all — additional funds could therefore be distributed to existing members. The ACC distributed nearly $40 million per school for the 2022 calendar year, and numbers should continue to go up with escalators in the league’s lengthy television contract with ESPN.
Several ACC schools have been openly lobbying for additional revenue pathways in recent months after the Big Ten and SEC signed massive new television contracts. The ACC previously endorsed an incentive-based initiative to reward high-achieving programs with additional revenue based on postseason success. The details are still being worked out, but the incentive programs is expected to start in 2024-25, the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff.
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