Originally Posted by
The Historian
It's easy to see why FSU officials are almost certainly, behind closed doors, very interested in the Big 12. The ACC deal will pay Florida State $16 million per year for first, second, and third-tier rights for football. The $17 million figure quoted doesn't take into consideration the fact the ACC office intends to keep a share for itself. Contrast that with the Big 12's new deal at $20 million per school for only first and second tier rights.
ESPN controls the first tier rights for both leagues and would not want to up the Big 12's first-tier deal as an incentive for an FSU or Clemson to bolt the ACC, which it completely controls. But Fox, which controls second-tier rights in the Big 12, would likely throw money at the idea.
For argument's sake, let's say they additional dollars would mean a 12-school Big 12 payout of $22 million per school for first and second tier rights. Again, for argument's sake, let's say FSU then creates a network in the state of Florida that provides it with third-tier dollars of between $3 million and $5 million per year.
Just using those number, which are conservative, FSU would be generating an additional $9 million to $11 million in the Big 12 over and above what they would be getting in the ACC. And it might be a lot more. They would be foolish not to push for that.