Interesting take by the Locked-On Big Ten podcast this week.
The host, Craig Shemon, says that ESPN has the right to opt out of the ACC Grant of Rights as early as 2027, but they have to give notice of that decision by February 2025. Shemon says that ESPN could very well decide to terminate the GOR because: (1) they prefer to dedicate their funds and energies to the more valuable conference property in the SEC; and, more importantly, (2) they just committed to spending $8 BILLION dollars to the expanded College Football Playoffs.
Shemon thinks there's a good chance that ESPN decides to announce the termination of the ACC GOR in February 2025, and that the ACC teams would then scramble to get into either the SEC or the Big Ten. He said the teams most likely to be candidates for the B1G would be (in no particular order and not necessarily all of them) FSU, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, and of course Notre Dame -- no surprise as to any of those teams.
If Shemon is right, the "Power 4" could be down to the "Power 3" as early as next February (although the timing of when the additional teams would join would obviously be a matter of negotiation at that point).
The host, Craig Shemon, says that ESPN has the right to opt out of the ACC Grant of Rights as early as 2027, but they have to give notice of that decision by February 2025. Shemon says that ESPN could very well decide to terminate the GOR because: (1) they prefer to dedicate their funds and energies to the more valuable conference property in the SEC; and, more importantly, (2) they just committed to spending $8 BILLION dollars to the expanded College Football Playoffs.
Shemon thinks there's a good chance that ESPN decides to announce the termination of the ACC GOR in February 2025, and that the ACC teams would then scramble to get into either the SEC or the Big Ten. He said the teams most likely to be candidates for the B1G would be (in no particular order and not necessarily all of them) FSU, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, and of course Notre Dame -- no surprise as to any of those teams.
If Shemon is right, the "Power 4" could be down to the "Power 3" as early as next February (although the timing of when the additional teams would join would obviously be a matter of negotiation at that point).
