CHARLOTTE — ACC commissioner Jim Phillips remains confident that the new exit-fee structure for Florida State and Clemson will deter the schools from leaving the conference—and potentially kick-start another wave of realignment.
“As far as an exit fee, I mean, it’s still a really significant number, and higher than most conferences,” Phillips told Front Office Sports at ACC media days. “So, I don’t really look at that piece of it, but it’s been talked about so much that I feel like I have to answer that.”
In 2026, exit fees for FSU and Clemson will cost $165 million and will decrease by $18 million every year until 2030–31, when they will level off at $75 million per school until 2036. Those were negotiated as part of the ACC settling lawsuits with the disgruntled universities in March.
Naturally, as Phillips referenced, that’s led to speculation that FSU and Clemson could try to bolt to the SEC or Big Ten once those exit fees reach their lowest point.
“I don’t look at it that way at all,” he said. “At the end of the day, we got to a place that the entire league felt good about, and it can never be about a school or two. It has to be about what’s in the best interest of the ACC.”
Phillips proclaimed at his opening press conference that the ACC is “nicely situated” following the settlements of the FSU and Clemson lawsuits.
When asked by FOS whether he feels comfortable with the ACC’s current 17-school makeup for football, Phillips said, “I really do, and I think everybody in college sports wants to see it settle down.”
CFP Expansion Update
As the Power 4 conferences struggle to agree on a revised format for an expanded College Football Playoff, Phillips told FOS that the ACC and others “absolutely have a voice” in the decision-making process, despite the Big Ten–SEC duopoly’s power to green-light any format they want.
“I think we’re all trying to work together, along with the other six conferences and Notre Dame,” Phillips said. “I don’t want us to ignore them, and no one is, I mean, we all want them to be involved.”
There is a Dec. 1 deadline for the CFP leaders to agree on any changes to the 2026 postseason.
