Florida State Football: ACC's Lack of Money Is a Self-Inflicted Wound

Over the weekend, the ACC was under siege from within, as Florida State's Board of Trustees Chairman, Andy Haggard, publicly bashed the league while calling for the Seminoles to explore the Big 12. The rumors that we have all been hearing for the last few weeks just got a bit more smoke added to them, as the high-ranking official was explicit in stating his displeasure with the league and his interest in other options.

While there was issue with the validity of his statements, with respect to the complicated science of third-tier rights, the overreaching point was clear: Florida State needs an avenue to get more money. Athletic director Randy Spetman attempted to calm the storm by stating that the 'Noles are committed to the ACC. However, head coach Jimbo Fisher makes it clear where Florida State stands:

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"There have been no official talks, but I think you always have to look out there to see what's best for Florida State," Fisher said. "If that [jumping to the Big 12] is what's best for Florida State, then that's what we need to do."

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Jimbo Fisher's spot on. He's not as vocally angry as Haggard, so what he says makes a lot more sense—like a measured, calculated, greater good sense. Florida State should be looking at all of their options and not blindly sticking with a league due to principle. It should be trying to find a way to increase their revenue. Florida State should be bothered by their rivals across the state raking money in hand over fist.

What Florida State should not be doing is forgetting that it is part of the ACC. Not "a part" as in they need to stay in line and put on a good face for the name of solidarity. Rather, the Seminoles are a part of the ACC—as in, the fifth-best conference.

The 12 members are a team. They are a collective—a group of fifth-placers that built that fifth-placed spot together. They all made the bed together, and now they are all sleeping in that bed together for the time being.

The league's television deal is Shake 'n Bake, and Florida State helped. The ACC does not command the big dollars that the SEC will get or that the Big Ten and Pac-12 already have. The ACC features a mix of small schools, small markets and teams in markets where they are less than influential. Having Atlanta, Miami and Boston are great; except the teams in those locations are playing second fiddle to other sports teams, and/or the programs are not performing well enough for people to care.

Add that point to the fact that the ACC, on the field, has not produced much in the ways of a winner, and you have a recipe for fifth-place money.

The league's champion routinely gets waxed in the BCS Bowls. Non-conference games that matter have been ending in big losses for the bulk of the last half decade.

Florida State, like it or not, is included in that mix. Although the Seminoles are the best football property in the conference, they have not helped raise the level of exposure or success of the ACC. As we stated before, the 12 teams are all in this boat together. The Florida State "lost decade" is as much a problem for the Seminoles' television money as the ACC itself. The same can most certainly be said for Miami.

Heck, if it was 2000 all over again and the ACC had Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech under one roof, the league would likely be writing their own checks like the Pac-12 and Big Ten. Florida State at No. 2, Miami at No. 3 and Virginia Tech at No. 5 would be quite the bargaining chip. It would also be quite different from the sad finishes of the conference in recent history.

The Seminoles absolutely should not be happy seeing their number for the television contract. Especially with the way the deal is structured and back loaded. However, the Seminoles' slide played a pretty significant role in why the league is sitting on fifth-place money. 'Noles fans should feel free to blame Commissioner Swofford, but never forget that the SEC did not just get a great television deal because Mike Slive is a shrewd negotiator. The Southeastern Conference gets cash money because they have something worth selling—something the ACC, as a collective, does not have at the moment.