The legal battle between Florida State University and the Atlantic Coast Conference took another twist Monday.
FSU filed an amended complaint in Leon County against the ACC regarding the ongoing dispute between the pair over the Seminoles' challenge to the league's grant of rights.
The school targeted former ACC commissioner John Swofford, citing a number of allegedly self-serving decisions made by Swafford that FSU says costs member schools millions of dollars.
FSU has been searching for a potential exit from the league instead of playing over $500 million in exit fees and penalties.
The ACC had initially filed a claim on Dec. 21 to protect the league's grant of rights.
The grant of rights is a legal document signed by each current member of the ACC that transfers ownership of media rights from the school to the conference. The ACC deal runs through 2036.
FSU filed its initial complaint against the ACC on Dec. 22, claiming the league restrained and breached the contract through years of mismanagement.
Breaking the grant-of-rights agreement and leaving the ACC would cost FSU $572 million, according to its lawsuit. The university is looking for a way out of a conference it has been a member of since 1992.
Earlier this month, the ACC filed an amended complaint in North Carolina Superior Court seeking damages from FSU for "serial breaches of critical legal promises and obligations" and questioned the Seminoles' right to have leadership in ACC positions. That includes FSU president Richard McCullough on the ACC's board of directors and finance committee
In FSU's amended complaint, the school questioned the legality of the conference's complaint.
It also contends that ACC schools have lost $82 million each year in revenue from their Tier II and Tier III media rights as a result of the conference's deal with Raycom, a regional sports network in Charlotte, N.C.
The complaint also suggests that Swofford, who served as ACC Commissioner from 1997 to 2021, was acting in the best interests of his son, and his son's employment with Raycom Sports, over the best interests of the conference.
"The Raycom Sports Partnership has cost each ACC member several million dollars and continues to depress the value of their media rights, and the cost and success of their prestige network through today," FSU's amended complaint said. "The ACC members saw no part of the payment Raycom Sports made to ESPN for their media rights, which if divided among the then 15 members would exceed $3 million per member."
Swofford was instrumental in the launch of the ACC Network in 2019 - three years after its initial announcement.
Under the current agreement with ESPN, each full-time ACC member is expected to be paid approximately $33 million in 2023.
While the ACC's long-term television contract with ESPN, including the distribution on the ACC Network, has cleared $30 million in recent years, the ACC payout for 2022-23 ranked fourth in average conference distribution according to USA Today, trailing the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State files new complaint against ACC aiming at exit
