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ESPN accuses FSU of potential felony in the ACC lawsuit saga. Here's what we know
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- ESPN accuses FSU of potential felony in the ACC lawsuit saga. Here's what we know
Florida State has another opponent in its legal battle with the ACC : ESPN. And the network is implying the school and its lawyers might have committed a felony in its attempt to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference .
The broadcasting giant owned by Disney submitted a filing in North Carolina court in support of the conference's lawsuit against the FSU Board of Trustees, who are trying to exit the ACC's "grant of rights" media deal . In the Thursday filing, ESPN said the deal contains "textbook trade secrets" and that publicly disclosing the terms of the media deal would be "destabilizing and harmful."
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ESPN comes out guns blazing in the February 22 filing, calling itself "the Worldwide Leader in Sports" in the opening sentence and claiming the details of the agreement between the network and the ACC should remain sealed. FSU has argued that the figures should be released as it tries to break off the deal set to expire in 2036.
It's the latest salvo in the ongoing fight between Florida State and the ACC, which took off when FSU sued the conference in a Florida court in December to get out of the TV rights deal (the ACC actually filed its own lawsuit against FSU in North Carolina the day before ).
Here's what we know about the FSU vs. ACC lawsuits:
What is ESPN claiming in the FSU-ACC lawsuit?
ESPN claims in its filing of support for the ACC's lawsuit that the grant of rights between the network and the conference should be sealed. It says if the specifics of the deal would be made public, it would put the network at a competitive disadvantage in future negotiations against rival broadcasters such as CBS and Fox.
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"Due to the individualized and competitive nature of that negotiation process, the contracts ESPN enters into with different parties vary, as do the negotiation processes themselves," the filing states. "Making the Agreements between ESPN and the ACC public would erode ESPN's ability to negotiate."
Did Florida State commit a felony? That's what ESPN implies
ESPN claims in its February 22 filing that FSU broke Florida law by disclosing trade secrets in its attempt to exit the ACC's media rights deal. At its meeting announcing the lawsuit on December 22, the Board of Trustees shared some financial estimates, including that it would cost FSU about $572 million to exit the grant of rights.
The ESPN filing refers to a number of Florida statutes in claiming that the details of Florida State's and the ACC's agreements would qualify as protected trade secrets, not public records as FSU has claimed in its own lawsuit.
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"Whether FSU and its lawyers have committed a felony by knowingly disclosing ESPN's trade secrets is a question for another day, but, relevant here, there is no question that trade secrets are carefully guarded throughout the United States, including in Florida," the filing states. "The definition of a trade secret under Florida law is substantially similar to that of North Carolina (and California) law, and the terms of ESPN's agreements plainly qualify."
What is the FSU lawsuit about?
Florida State is trying to exit the ACC's "grant of rights" media deal, which transfers each conference school's media rights over to the conference. Similar agreements exist across college sports, but FSU claims the ACC's deal, which is due to expire in 2036, puts the conference at a competitive disadvantage against the rising powers of the Big Ten and SEC.
FSU sued the ACC on December 22, claiming the grant of rights deal:
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violates Florida law;
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has an unenforceable penalty on the grant of rights penalty;
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is a breach of contract;
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is a breach of fiduciary duty;
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shows a fundamental failure of contractual purpose;
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and shows unconscionability and violation of public policy.
The school amended its lawsuit January 29, alleging former ACC commissioner John Swofford cost member schools $82 million per year because of the conference's deal with regional sports network Raycom, for which his son Chad Swofford is an executive. John Swofford played a key role in launching the ACC Network in 2019.
Why is FSU leaving the ACC?
Part money, part competition.
Florida State, along with Clemson and other high-tier schools in the conference, has for years railed against the ACC and its revenue-sharing plan. Most of the anger is centered around the TV deal with ESPN, which expires in 2036 and splits TV revenue evenly between all 14 schools (that's soon to be 17 with Stanford, California and SMU set to join in 2024). Front Office Sports reported the deal pays about $30 million per school. The three new teams are expected to add $60 million to that pot, according to Front Office Sports. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said in August the school receives $42 million annually from the conference.
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That amount is paltry compared to what the Big Ten and SEC are getting from their new TV deals. The Big Ten signed a seven-year, $8 billion deal to air games between Fox, CBS and NBC that went into effect in the 2023 season. In 2024, the SEC starts a 10-year, $3 billion deal to move from CBS to ESPN .
The final straw, though, might have been the FSU football team being left out of the College Football Playoff . The Seminoles looked like one of the best teams in college football all season until quarterback Jordan Travis , who finished fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy, broke his leg against North Alabama on Nov. 19. With Tate Rodemaker under center the next week at Florida and third-string QB Brock Glenn in the ACC championship against Louisville, the offense was just not the same, but the Seminoles still finished 13-0 with a Power 5 conference championship, something that had guaranteed a spot in the playoffs the previous 10 years.
But despite being ranked No. 4 heading into the final weekend, the CFP committee decided the struggling offense wasn't good enough to make the four-team playoff. Undefeated Michigan and Washington would face one-loss Alabama and Texas, respectively, leaving Florida State to play two-time defending champion Georgia in the Orange Bowl on December 30 and making a lot of people (including Gov. Ron DeSantis , Sen. Rick Scott and, of course, Donald Trump ) incredibly , loudly upset .
What's next in the FSU vs. ACC lawsuit?
Florida State filed a motion to dismiss the ACC's lawsuit in North Carolina. That hearing is set for March 22 in a Mecklenburg County business court. If that case isn't dismissed, FSU will ask for it to be stayed so the school's own lawsuit in Florida can proceed.
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Tallahassee Democrat sports editor Jim Henry and Florida State sports reporter Ehsan Kassim contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: FSU vs ACC lawsuit: What we know about ESPN filing in TV rights case
