Reporter ponders if FSU, Clemson going to the SEC is cheaper for ESPN than keeping them in ACC

The talk of the town in college football as August 1 turned into August 2 -- and the Big Ten and Big 12 officially welcomed all of their new programs -- was the release of ESPN's contract with the ACC via Warchant.com's Ira Schoffel.

As Schoffel points out, ESPN has an out of their media rights agreement with the ACC in 2027; which could open the door for the schools currently suing the conference, FSU and Clemson, to find a bigger payday elsewhere.

CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd then said it was widely reported that ESPN could actually opt out a lot sooner in 2025.

In response, The Tampa Bay Times' Matt Baker, a notable voice in realignment talks, asked a hypothetical that involved the possibility of ESPN paying FSU and Clemson to be in the SEC.

"Here's a hypothetical: Is it better/cheaper for ESPN to pay for FSU + Clemson in the SEC than to pay for FSU + Clemson + Wake + BC et al in the ACC?" Baker wrote on X in response to Dodd.

FSU and Clemson rumored to be joining Big 12, but Noles making steps toward Big Ten acceptance

Things have been fluid in this round of realignment talks unlike the last several years, when the Four Corners schools were only linked to the Big 12 and USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington were all Big Ten-bound with little oxygen given to any alternative.

FSU and Clemson were most often connected to the SEC when the legal troubles with the ACC first started up but were then thought to be headed to the B1G before WildcatAuthority's Jason Scheer (and Greg Swaim) deemed them likely for the Big 12.

Basically every possibility has been floated. Just when it seems like there's an answer, the rumor mill changes the question.

All we know is that what we know may be outdated soon. That Baker is even talking about the SEC adding FSU and Clemson means the conference that already allegedly denied those schools is still in the mix.