Longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim reports that while the Big 12 and ACC are offering the same payouts to schools right now, that'd change if the former were to poach FSU, Clemson, and others as has been rumored.
"While the Big 12 and ACC currently make roughly the same payout per team, that's where the similarities end," Swaim wrote. "The Big 12 contract continues to rise with an escalator clause, while the ACC payout is stagnant until 2036. If the Big 12 were to take four to six teams from the ACC, the Big 12 payout would be significantly more, while the ACC payout would simultaneously drop. The ACC dam is about to burst, but who'll be the first to jump and get that bonus?"
With that said, Mike Farrell (of the Mike Farrell Sports brand) reports that the Big 12 would be "pissing off" its current members if they were to raise the necessary funds to bring FSU, Clemson, and others to the conference.
"Rumors of the Big 12 helping to pay a buyout for both is ridiculous as they don’t have the money for such a thing without dipping into TV revenue and pissing off other teams in the conference," Farrell wrote. "I love realignment rumors. And we will continue to report and speculate on them because it’s fun. But we will also speak what we know. And right now, Clemson and FSU aren’t going to the Big 12 — and they don’t want to anyhow."
ACC won't survive as Power Conference if Big 12 has its way
College football is already imbalanced. There's a Power 4, a Group of 5, and four college football independents (Notre Dame, UConn, Oregon State, Wazzu); two of which (Pac-2) are still masquerading as a conference.
If the Big 12 were to get its way, the ACC would no longer be a Power Conference. At best, it'd be a beefed-up version of the AAC.
There'd be a "Power 3," though. And that might be a better reality for the sport than the "Power 2" dynamic we were heading towards before the Big 12 entered the fray for FSU, Clemson, and other ACC schools.