I did not say the NFL is not well-run.
Because if it goes to court and for some crazy reason, FSU wins….the GOR worthless and we don’t have a conference any longer. If you are the ACC, you better be darn sure this is air tight or else your conference implodes.
And probably all other conference GOR's would be worthless or at least greatly weakened.
You are correct. However, it has been pointed out, ad nauseum, that several schools within and without the ACC have reviewed the GOR, as have many private law firms. GORs are not new documents, having been used in the entertainment industry long before conference TV deals. They have been upheld time and again. Further, UT, OU, USC, and UCLA all attempted to break the GOR and assessed it to not be worth the trouble, within the last few years. UVA, UNC, Clemson, VATech, UMiami, and NCState have likewise concluded the same. The SEC and the B1G refused to get involved with any discussion of early release as they were avoiding any appearance of interference with an existing contract.
FSU's budget is their own. State schools may receive funding from the state but they state does not dictate the school budget. FSU will have a hard time forcing the state to pay FSU's withdrawal fee and buy back their TV rights so they can join another unknown conference, which may be worse off than the ACC. This status weakens their arguments in court. FSU made the contract on their own, they will face the consequences, good and bad, on their own.
Well, if it happens that somehow FSU succeeds; then bring on the chaos. CFB is so screwed up right now anyway. Maybe when the dust settles, common sense might prevail. I doubt I’ll be around to see it happen though.
Correct. I think a big error is being made in part because people know about European soccer 'minor leagues' having fairly large fan bases. People in Britain do watch a lot of non-Premier League soccer. But European soccer cannot be translated into American football. If Major CFB becomes basically an NFL Triple A, then people will respond by watching only to see the next star emerge into the NFL.
Take a look at my suggested divisions . They are built around old conferences with some geographical changes.
Someone asked why would the ACC negotiate and settle. I simply responded with a reason WHY they might consider that. To protect against a judge making a bad ruling. Attorneys are generally adverse to risk. That’s why many cases settle before seeing the floor of a courtroom.
A school absolutely can not use their endowment on “whatever” they want. Endowments are legally restricted to be used for the donor’s intended purposes. So that’s off the table.
FSU has no leverage. Do not concede an inch.
I agree, the exit costs would hurt. However, the state is not going to pay the exit fee. I have argued all along that FSU lacks the resources to buy their way out. FSU'S offer of $100MM last summer, the farce that it was, was not funded and conditioned on supporters and a payment over time. FSU's endowment likely prohibits the use of most of the funds from sports.
Your points are valid. However, the points must be viewed en toto with the facts on the ground. Lawyers are risk adverse because of the duties owed to their clients. However, FSU has failed up produce a reasonable claim. No attorney should negotiate until FSU does so, there remains no basis to negotiate.
In your hypothetical, FSU breaks even in 15 years, which is longer than running out the ACC deal and cashing in earlier.
If everybody was able to play for both teams, FSU still would have lost, but not as badly.
Ego
It doesn’t do the league any good to harm college football. It’s their source of cheap labor and future stars.
FIFY.
