Nov 4, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Florida State Seminoles helmet on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Florida State Seminoles football could leave ACC for super league in latest finding

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Jackson Bakich | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 11:12 AM ET

Matt Baker of The Athletic has reported an eyebrow-raising clause in the latest development in the Florida State-ACC legal battle.

While FSU and Clemson voted to end their lawsuits against the league in March and officially withdrew their cases in May, there are a multitude of events that will need to occur in the next five years that will undoubtedly change the course of the college football landscape forever.

The lawsuits brought forth by FSU and Clemson were both reactionary and anticipatory.

They were reactionary to the growing revenue gap between the SEC, the Big Ten, and everyone else. They were anticipatory of the notion that even more change is bound to come, especially with the TV media deals coming to a close around the end of the decade.

Now that the ACC's legal settlement has been made public, Baker pointed out the "option of limited withdrawal" clause that allows teams (a minimum of six) in the conference to leave the league in one particular sport (let's use football as an example) to join another conference or new entity (such as a "super league") but remain in the ACC for all other sports, like basketball and softball.

Fines in the tens of millions of dollars would occur in this instance, but it could be worth it in the long run if a TV contract deal for this supposed "super league" (as Baker refers to it) outweighs the fines imposed by the ACC.

With this clause on record, it will be interesting to see if public desire for a so-called "super league" increases in the coming months.