FSU AD: Lagging ACC revenue ‘has to change’
Florida State athletic director Michael Alford told his board of trustees on Friday that “something has to change” when it comes to closing the growing revenue gap with other conferences — a sign that one of the biggest brands in the ACC is unhappy with the current structure.
In a phone interview with ESPN later Friday, Alford said he decided to make his comments after recent ACC winter meetings in which athletic directors and presidents discussed an uneven revenue sharing model at length without any consensus moving forward about what to do.
At issue: The ACC will fall behind both the SEC and Big Ten in revenue by about $30 million per year when their respective new television contracts kick in (Big Ten in 2023, SEC in 2024).
“Something has to change because we cannot compete nationally being $30 million behind every year,” Alford said. “It’s not one year. We’re talking about $30 million compounded year after year.”
The ACC is locked into its television deal with ESPN through 2036. The league also has all schools tied together with a grant of rights that lasts the length of the contract. In the most recent available financial filing, the ACC distributed a record $578 million to its members for 2020-21. The SEC distributed $721.8 million in 2021-22, but that is before its new deal kicks in.
Based on a market valuation that he had commissioned, Alford told board members on Friday that FSU contributes roughly 15% of the value in the ACC’s media rights deal but the school only gets 7% of the distributions as one of 14 full members of the conference.
Currently, the ACC distributes its revenues equally among all 14 full-time members. But the conference decided to look at different uneven revenue distribution models after recent conference realignment had Oklahoma and Texas leave for the SEC, and USC and UCLA join the Big Ten. There has been speculation that the bigger brands in the ACC could be next in line if there is another wave of expansion.
The grant of rights is currently keeping the league together because any school that leaves would have to forfeit its media payout and media rights. But at some point, that grant of rights could be challenged in court, especially if the revenue gap continues to grow with no relief in sight.
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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Ryan S. Clark
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.
Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.
He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.
Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.
It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.
That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.
But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
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