Clemson has filed suit against the ACC, with the suit being filed in Pickens County, in the court of Common Pleas. The University is suing the conference over the Grant of Rights, which would include media rights fees and exit fees. Clemson is the second school to file suit, joining Florida State, who filed in December of last year.
A copy of the filing can be found here.
Here are some excerpts.
Clemson makes this motion on the grounds that the Complaint refers to and describes portions of agreements between the ACC on the one hand, and ESPN, Inc. and ESPN Enterprises, Inc. (together, “ESPN”) on the other hand—specifically, the Amended Multimedia Agreement and the Network Agreement (together, the “ESPN Agreements”)—and that the parties to these agreements maintain that the terms thereof are confidential and constitute trade secrets.
Clemson is not a party to the ESPN Agreements. The Defendant, the ACC, is. Clemson acknowledges that the ESPN Agreements include provisions that require the parties to those contracts to keep the contracts and their terms confidential and include certain economic terms that are typically treated as confidential in commercial contracts. More importantly, were Clemson to unilaterally publish or recite portions of the ESPN Agreements in an unredacted pleading, it would risk becoming embroiled unnecessarily in avoidable litigation. Among other things, the ACC has sued a member school for not filing under seal a complaint that refers explicitly to the ESPN Agreements, and ESPN has invoked the specter of criminal liability in connection with the same member’s publication of portions of the ESPN Agreements. Consequently, Clemson makes this motion for the temporary and partial sealing of the record until the ACC is afforded the opportunity to make
a sufficient showing as to which, if any, of the redacted allegations and the contractual provisions to which they refer should remain confidential and sealed.
Among other things in this action, Clemson seeks a declaration of rights pursuant to a Grant of Rights Agreement between Clemson and the ACC. The ACC has said, in numerous public statements, that by executing the Grant of Rights, Clemson granted the ACC rights to all Clemson home games through 2036, even if Clemson ceases being a member of the ACC. Clemson disagrees with the ACC’s characterization of the rights granted, and it contends that an examination of the purportedly confidential ESPN Agreements will refute the ACC’s publicly stated position and support Clemson’s requested declaratory judgment.
The ACC's Grant of Rights, which the league has claimed to be ironclad, runs through 2036, and includes extremely swift exit fees, around $140M, for any school looking to get out early.
This is a developing story and All Clemson Tigers will have more as it continues to develop.