Florida State, Clemson, and the ACC are considering a framework to settle all four lawsuits over the validity of the ACC’s contracts holding the conference together, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports. The settlement would implement a new revenue-incentive structure related to TV viewership, and it would provide “clarity” around what it would take for a school to leave the league.

If the parties can successfully settle, the ACC will have secured its future with its current 18 members until at least 2036, when its grant of rights contract—which binds schools’ media rights together and imposes exit fees if they leave early—expires.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from just a year ago, when the group of lawsuits threatened to invalidate the contracts holding the league together.

As part of a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, ACC presidents will discuss and potentially vote to agree to the settlement framework, a source said. Then, FSU and Clemson board members will hold their own separate meetings.

FSU sued the ACC in December 2023 alleging negligence and asking for its grant of rights contract to be invalidated so that the school could leave the conference. After losing out on a spot in the then-four-team College Football Playoff despite being undefeated, FSU was frustrated about not having a path to college football’s postseason, which it blamed on the conference. The school was also concerned the league’s revenues would fall behind those of the Big Ten and SEC. (The ACC’s media-rights deal with ESPN, which pays out in the mid-$30 million range annually, runs until 2036.)

Clemson filed a less harsh lawsuit soon afterward. The ACC countersued both schools.

The settlement would implement a revenue incentive for schools to earn extra dollars based on television ratings, sources said. The structure would be available to all schools, with no specific carve-outs for FSU or Clemson. (FSU presented this idea to the league in 2022 to no avail, another source said.) 

The revenue distribution would be in addition to the ACC’s new “success incentive” program, which offers $20 million to $25 million in extra revenue based on a school’s football postseason success. The league has also earned $600 million in additional media-rights revenue by adding Stanford, Cal, and SMU, which is bumping revenue distribution even more, the first source noted.

The settlement confirms that schools that want to leave before the media-rights deal and grant of rights expire in 2036 would have to pay a specific dollar amount in exit fees, based on a formula of conference annual revenue. This aspect of the settlement satisfies Clemson’s specific requests in litigation to understand what, exactly, the program would have to pay if it wanted to leave the ACC.

FSU, Clemson, and the ACC declined to comment due to the fact that the litigation was still pending.

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network dispute involving MLB, the Nationals, and the Orioles—which has roiled the sport for two decades—is at last over following a landmark settlement involving the three entities. 

The Nationals, whose local media rights have been tied to the Orioles-controlled regional sports network for their entire 20-year existence, are free to pursue other deals after a final season on MASN in 2025. The settlement also involves the dismissal of all legal claims, which over the years brought the MASN dispute into a series of courts and internal MLB processes without final resolution.

MASN debuted in 2005 as a means to help compensate the late former Orioles owner Peter Angelos following the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington to become the Nationals. Almost immediately in the RSN’s existence, however, the Orioles and Nationals battled over media-rights fees, with Washington alleging the Orioles and MASN were not providing fair-market value. The Nationals were the only MLB team not in full control of their own local rights, and the MASN arrangement—originally designed to last in perpetuity—cast a long cloud over team operations, including unsuccessful prior efforts to sell the franchise.

Because of that, the MASN situation remained one of MLB’s thorniest problems. Ultimately, though, several key factors aided the final settlement:

• A 2019 legal ruling in the Supreme Court of the State of New York favoring the Nationals. That decision influenced an eventual rights-fee agreement nearly two years ago between the two clubs for the 2011–2016 seasons, and then a subsequent one struck later in 2023 covering the 2017–2021 seasons. A recent decision by MLB’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee, which oversaw the settling of rights for both the Orioles and Nationals, similarly found that Washington was due an average of $64.1 million in annual-rights fees for the 2022–2026 seasons. That decision is now being superseded by the settlement. 
• A nearly complete change from the key figures in the original formation of MASN and litigation of rights fees. Former MLB president Bob DuPuy left the league in 2010, former commissioner Bud Selig departed in early 2015, Angelos died nearly a year ago and just as his family completed a sale of the Orioles to David Rubenstein, and former Nationals owner Ted Lerner died in early 2023. 
• Large-scale disruption in the entire media business, a situation that now has MLB commissioner Rob Manfred looking to overhaul the sport’s entire portfolio of national and local rights. The MASN split is the second major shift in baseball media in two weeks after the MLB-ESPN divorce. 

“The Nationals and Orioles extend their gratitude to commissioner Manfred and his team at MLB for their efforts in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion,” the teams said in a joint statement. “Both clubs thank our fans for their support and look forward to continuing their partnership with MASN for the upcoming season.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Next Up?

It now bears close watching whether the Nationals will now align with the Ted Leonsis–controlled Monumental Sports Network. Leonsis is close to Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner, and Lerner is part of the ownership group at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. 

Leonsis, meanwhile, has expressed interest acquiring both baseball rights for his RSN, and potentially the Nationals franchise if the Lerner family restarts aborted efforts to sell. 

“They know our intentions, and at some point, we’ll reengage,” Leonsis told Front Office Sports Today last year regarding the Lerners and the Nationals.

Utilization of the NFL’s high-priced franchise tag is heating up ahead of a 4 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline for teams to formally place the tag on a player.

After it looked like just one player this offseason might end up with the franchise tag, which allows teams to retain a player on a one-year contract, several players could now end up being tagged. The total number will still likely be lower than the eight players who were tagged last year and six in 2023.

The franchise tag pays a player 120% of their previous salary, or the average of the top five salaries at their respective position over the past five years—whichever is greater.

Done Deals in Cincy, K.C.

The Bengals formally placed the franchise tag on receiver Tee Higgins on Monday afternoon, meaning Higgins will make $26.18 million in 2025 if he plays on the franchise tag for the second straight season, after he made $21.81 million in 2024.

Cincinnati director of player personnel Duke Tobin said his preference is to work out a long-term deal with Higgins. But the Bengals are balancing working out a record extension for fellow wideout Ja’Marr Chase, as well as a potential new deal for defensive end Trey Hendrickson—all while paying quarterback Joe Burrow $275 million over his own five-year extension signed in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs have placed the franchise tag on guard Trey Smith, who will earn $23.4 million in 2025 unless he agrees to a long-term deal in Kansas City by a July 15 deadline for new contracts. Smith, a sixth-round pick in 2021, earned $6.58 million over the first four seasons of his NFL career (all figures via Spotrac).

Travis Kelce is returning for another season with the Chiefs, but the team may look to restructure his contract, which is set to give him $17 million as the NFL’s highest-paid tight end.

Another Tag Likely Coming

The Cowboys plan to use the franchise tag on defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa if a long-term deal is not reached by Tuesday’s deadline, according to ESPN. Odighizuwa, a third-round pick in 2021, would make $25.1 million on the tag. His career earnings thus far are $6.85 million.

Quarterback Carousel

When Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spoke to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine last week, they stopped short of committing to bring back quarterback Sam Darnold—on a long-term deal or via the franchise tag. Darnold, who played on a one-year, $10 million contract last season, would be in line for a $40.42 million deal on the franchise tag next season, but he is hoping for a longer term, whether it’s in Minnesota or elsewhere. 

Matthew Stafford’s restructured contract with the Rams has put the spotlight on Aaron Rodgers, who is looking for a new home after the Jets decided to part ways with the 41-year-old quarterback, despite taking a $49 million dead-cap hit to do so. The Giants are reported to be a potential landing spot for Rodgers.