Jul 22, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC commissioner Jim Phillips speaks to the media during ACC Media Days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips Addresses Concerns Over Revenue Sharing at 2025 ACC Football Kickoff

Originally posted on Boston College Eagles on SI
By Graham Dietz | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 11:44 AM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips took the stage in the North Carolina Room of the Charlotte Hilton Uptown hotel on Tuesday morning to commence the 2025 ACC Football Kickoff event in front of more than one hundred media members, student-athlete advisory committee members and various other groups.

After addressing the audience with an opening statement, a Q&A period followed. The common theme of the Q&A session? Revenue and revenue sharing, of course.

This year, the NCAA implemented a new revenue-sharing model which allows schools to directly compensate student-athletes. Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, schools can allocate up to $20.5 million annually to a revenue-sharing pool, which is projected to increase each year for the next decade. The annual cap will increase to approximately $32 million over that period.

Phillips remarked that the new settlement allows all members of the ACC to benefit from opportunities stemming from revenue sharing.

“The settlement provides long-term stability for the league, with the potential for all members to benefit from additional revenue opportunities,” Phillips said. “Leading in the distribution of revenue based on success, and now with an additional revenue distribution model that is based on viewership, the ACC has been innovative in its approach to conference revenues as part of the modernization in college athletics.”

According to Phillips, the ACC is one of only two power conferences—consisting of the ACC, Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12 Conference—to show a revenue increase in 2023-24. The ACC had the highest gross revenue ever reported for the league at a staggering $711 million over the last five years, with overall revenues up 56 percent.

Jim Phillips on revenue sharing:

“For me and my fellow Commissioners to university presidents, athletic directors and coaches, we have to commit to structure, exercise restraint and be intentional about resetting the culture of college athletics.”@theACC
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) July 22, 2025

The ACC delivered an average of $45 million to each school in 2023-24—also a league record.

But the conference's ability to share revenue with member programs is where problems have stemmed.

Phillips’ paramount message is retaining member schools. His position comes from the aftermath of litigation between Florida State, Clemson and the ACC which was resolved by an agreement in March that changes the league’s revenue distribution model and significantly reduces exit penalties for members wanting to leave the conference before 2036.

Both schools filed lawsuits against the ACC in their home states challenging the grant of rights agreement—that, according to Florida State’s attorneys, could have meant paying as much as $700 million to leave the conference, according to an ESPN article.

With the new agreement in place, beginning next year, the exit fee will be $165 million. That fee will decline by $18 million per year, leveling at $75 million in 2030-31.

Through all of these legal disputes, Phillips is resolutely focused on keeping the brand of the ACC to a high tier—whether it is with or without FSU, Clemson or any member program in the conference.

Phillips acknowledged that problems with revenue sharing in the conference arise due to the fact that some programs attract more audience than others—thus, rake in more dollars—but is prioritizing the league as a whole over any individual institution.

“I know what the Florida State and Clemson people were saying and they said to the entire group about their desire to be in the ACC and all the rest of that,” Phillips said. “I believe that, I really do. I have a responsibility to make sure that our ACC schools want to be in this league, not just have to be in this league.”

Every school is still entitled to a revenue-sharing pool, but Phillips admitted that schools need to do their part in achieving goals related to increasing revenue for the conference moving forward.

"If you want to earn more money, then you're going to need to invest,” Phillips said. “And we have two prongs to this thing. You have the overall success initiatives ... and go fight for those dollars from a viewership standpoint."

This article first appeared on Boston College Eagles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: