Report: ESPN Picks Up Option To Continue Televising ACC Sports Through 2036

There was big news regarding the ACC this morning and its television deal with ESPN
Sep 6, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the ACC logo during the first half of the game between the Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Brigham Young Cougars at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Sep 6, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the ACC logo during the first half of the game between the Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Brigham Young Cougars at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There was some big news regarding the ACC this morning. While there has been plenty of doubt about the conference moving forward, it was reported by ESPN's David Hale and Andrea Adelson that ESPN has agreed to pick up its option to continue broadcasting ACC Sports through 2036.

Here is more from the report:

"The agreement is a critical step toward securing stability for the conference. With the television deal settled, the ACC is now working toward a settlement with Clemson and Florida State that could end those schools' ongoing lawsuits against the conference.

ESPN had until Feb. 1 to pick up the option on a 20-year contract signed in 2016 that helped launch the ACC Network. Had ESPN declined, the partnership would have ended after the 2027 season.

Sources said ESPN agreed to pick up the option after the ACC agreed to new "value adds," which commissioner Jim Phillips helped push. These include creating more marquee matchups in football and men's basketball to maximize content on the networks. The ACC board of directors held a call Wednesday night to approve those additions.

Multiple athletic directors told ESPN this could also involve using the ACC's relationship with Notre Dame to strategically create more games against the conference's top-tier teams. Earlier this month, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said he was open to playing more games against Clemson in the future. Notre Dame currently plays five to six regular-season football games against the ACC annually and is a member of the ACC in all other sports.

Negotiations surrounding the option ran in conjunction with discussions between the ACC and Clemson and Florida State on a new revenue distribution model aimed at alleviating the schools' biggest concerns over financial disparities with peers in the Big Ten and SEC, both of which have more generous TV contracts signed over the past two years.

Under the proposed plan, a percentage of the ACC's television revenue would be included in a "brand" fund, and that money would then be distributed to schools that annually generate the most revenue for the conference in football and men's and women's basketball -- with Clemson, Florida State, Miami and North Carolina likely at the top of the pyramid, sources told ESPN.

Should that agreement be finalized -- something sources said is not imminent but was closely tied to the ESPN option -- Clemson and Florida State would be expected to drop their lawsuits."

Nothing is ever certain in college athletics anymore, but this does provide stability for schools in the ACC until this television deal ends, including Georgia Tech.

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Jackson Caudell
JACKSON CAUDELL

Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell