In settling its lawsuits with Florida State and Clemson, the ACC adopted a new revenue share distribution model that will factor in television ratings into the annual payouts to its member schools.
The new model is set to benefit the league's most popular programs at the expense of those that draw fewer eyeballs. While it makes some sense that the ACC would make a significant change to hold on to its most valuable members, the model has even raised some questions about college football's dominant leagues, the Big Ten and SEC. While they make far more money annually than the other college sports conferences, it stands to reason that the top tier programs like Ohio State and Alabama might consider whether it makes sense for them to bring in the same amount of annual revenue as conferencemates like Rutgers and Mississippi State.
