Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Mediation Between Florida State & The ACC Fails | NIL Deals From Saudi Arabia?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Florida State and the ACC have already finished their mediation sessions, and here's how it went. You are Locked-on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. I mean, did you really think the mediator appointed there in Florida was actually going to get the two sides to hold hands and sing kumbaya? We'll talk about how it went and how it's going. Thank you so much to the everydayers for making Lockdown ACC your first listen and your first watch today. We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:00:42 We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Ultimate College Football HC. It's a brand new mobile game that's completely free, has no ads, and 100% playable offline. Use the promo code Locked on CFB, all caps inside the game store to receive a free boost to your program. begin your coaching legacy today. So Kenton, are you, are you shocked that the mediation that was ordered by the Honorable Judge Cooper in Florida who was not successful? I'm gasping. I am utterly baffled.

Starting point is 00:01:18 These two sides have been so amicable all the way along the way, Kent, agree. What has the world come to? What has the world? Of course, I'm not sure. we all knew that this was exactly how mediation was going to go. We all knew that it was going to be a sit down and it was going to be, hey, can you meet me at half a billion? No. Can you meet me at zero?

Starting point is 00:01:42 No. All right. Back to the courtroom. We go, friends. Like, what are we doing here? Jim Phillips specifically said, I will fight until the bitter end. What do you think that means? What did?

Starting point is 00:01:57 Oh, he, I'm sorry. I will fight till the end. end means till a mediator comes in and ends the debauchery, at which point in time, we'll have to be decent in an order and go ahead and give up the fight. Knock it up. Let's just knock it up. Here's the ex post from Pete Nacos, who covers sports and sports business for On Three Sports. He writes, Florida State and the ACC have informed Leon County Court. That's the court in Tallahassee, Florida, that they met for mediation and did not resolve their dispute.

Starting point is 00:02:30 ad settlement discussions will continue, and that's the long and the short of it for what's detailed there in the official court filing, which was obtained by, which was obtained by multiple media outlets. And so again, just to emphasize, doesn't mean a settlement is impossible. It just means they didn't have enough common ground at this point to actually settle it this soon through mediation. And so you talked about Kenton about Commissioner Jim Phillips of the ACC vowing to fight for as long as it takes, would it be fair to say that the ACC has more to lose here than Florida State? And I'm not saying Florida State would love to stay in the ACC for another 12 years. Obviously, they clearly wouldn't. They're thinking about all the revenue that they're

Starting point is 00:03:15 losing compared to what's being granted to schools from the SEC and the Big Ten. But staying in the ACC for Florida State probably wouldn't be bad as the ACC losing Florida State and Clemson and who knows what else if they don't win here. I think the ACC has more to lose, and that's why they need to fight tooth and nail. The ACC has more, therefore they have more to lose. I mean, that's the objective. Like, you know, it's like if somebody, it's like when you see people driving very recklessly and they're driving an old beat up car, and it's like they don't have the same things at

Starting point is 00:03:50 state that some other people on the road do. you know it's just not the same type of situation where you're sitting up here saying oh man like if they crash that car they're out of 500 bucks as opposed to like if you crash a you know a G wagon or something like that your insurance company is going to pretend like they don't know you you crashed a lot I know you paid in every month but we'll talk to you later buddy but that's that's legitimately what it is not to say that Florida state is a old beat up carpet by comparison. You're talking about a conference, which includes double-digit team.

Starting point is 00:04:29 Don't get me wrong. Florida State is a massive brand. They're a massive thing. The ACC definitely has more to lose because they are a conference. It is not just one institution and two institutes. If they stand to lose everything, if things go downhill from here, as opposed to Florida State where even worst-case scenario over them, they just don't get as much money as they would like.

Starting point is 00:04:49 But, you know, it's not like a, oh, my God, how do we end up here type of moment? By the way, also on this loaded episode of Lockdown ACC, we're going to talk about this crazy story about NIL money from Saudi Arabia. And it's not directly an ACC story, but believe me, this could become a thing in the ACC and anywhere in college football. We'll talk a little bit more about how the real winners so far in these ACC versus Florida State and versus Clemson battles, the real victors so far are the lawyers. we could also talk about a prediction that a national media member has made for who's going to win the ACC. But going back to this legal story, Kenton, if we can characterize the ACC having more to lose here, I think it's even easier to diagnose that Florida State has a lot more to gain by getting out, right? Because, I mean, if the ACC, if the ACC wins, like their ultimate victory would be,

Starting point is 00:05:47 we keep Florida State and Clemson trapped for the next 12 years. I don't expect that to happen. would be the ultimate victory for the ACC, which would just mean the status quo, right? They can keep going with the same teams. They can keep going for sure with the same TV deal because, you know, ESPN probably wouldn't opt out if they know that they're keeping Clemson and Florida State in, whereas Florida State they have so much more to gain because they're looking at that 30, 40 million of extra revenue that they could be getting somewhere else. Even if they have to pay a heft of your price just to get out, they would view it as a long-term win,

Starting point is 00:06:20 potentially being able to land in the power too. I strongly disagree. I think that the ACC has much more to gain than Florida State. Yes, the status quo is not supposed to be that much of a game. But when you think about what the ACC's current status quo is, I mean, that's a hell of a lot to gain by keeping it. We're talking about, and I don't believe that this is up on the block, whether or not Clemson's the Florida State or there.

Starting point is 00:06:48 But we are talking about, again, this is my belief, not a fact. The idea of, like you said, the TV deal with ESPN, you're talking about hundreds of men up front. We're not talking about the long-term ramifications of if you end up having all these teams have to basically go back to Valley Sports or wherever else to make all these local regional deals because there's no grand TV deal nationally. So when you talk about who has the most to gain here, the ACC, and think about this other part of this. Let's say that these teams do get crazy and desperate. They say, we'll do anything to leave so bad.

Starting point is 00:07:29 We're going to pony up the money to leave right now. And they lose in court. You're looking at the ACC gaining about a billion dollars somewhere close from two teams having to pay nearly half a million. You know what I mean? Like the ACC stands to gain a ton from these court proceedings. in its favor. That's just, don't get me wrong. Florida State does stand to gain a lot. I'm not going to sit here and pretend like, oh, yeah, even if best case scenario, they gain nothing. But the ACC is not just about survival. It's about how big of a deal can you command when you say,

Starting point is 00:08:04 hey, Clemsonet of Florida State may want to leave. They're stuck like Chuck. They are right here with us. What can you ask for then? Well, it wouldn't surprise me if Florida State's lawyers don't exactly want to rush this process along. When we come back, you will not believe how much Florida States lawyers have allegedly already been paid and we're only about eight months into this process so far. You want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. We are proudly brought to you by Ultimate College Football Head Coach. Locked on ACC fans, if you want to take a moment, download this app and I'm telling you, you're going to love it as much as Kenton and I do, Ultimate College Football HC.

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Starting point is 00:10:15 I host Locked on Cains. Between the two of us, we've got your NC State and your Miami Hurricanes coverage. And of course, we cover everything else right here on Locked on ACC. So this is pretty wild. Let me see if I can pull up this ex post for those watching the video version. I will, of course, read it for those listening to the audio version. This account, again, who spends 25 hours a day tweeting about conference realignment, Big Ten information at Genetics 56 on X.

Starting point is 00:10:44 I think I made that a little too big there. He says, we are approaching $3 million in FSU legal. fees. Freedom of Information Act request by a war chant member showed us 2.7 million spent so far on Florida state legal fees. Now, unfortunately, we don't. Maybe someone needs to make Freedom of Information request on the ACC's legal fees, although if that comes out of North Carolina, the laws are a little different than Florida. So we don't know what the ACC has spent. I assume it's something similar to that, Kenton, but Florida State approaching three million in legal fees. We've been doing this for eight months. If this drags on for another year or year

Starting point is 00:11:26 and a half, this might get close to 10 million in legal fees by the time this is done. And that's just for one side. Donno, we don't mess around and went into the wrong profession. We surely went into the wrong profession. We knew that there was a lot of money being spent here. We knew. And we knew that this was a situation where the lawyers were going to be happy, regardless of whether Florida State wins or ACC win, somebody was going to be very very, happy to see, hey, listen, my bill of all hours, they're going to be through the roof. They will be through the roof trying to argue whether or not this contract says you can leave Scott's free or not.

Starting point is 00:12:02 And so we are at a point in these proceedings where we still feel like we're in its infancy and we're approaching three mill already. You and I have talked about the fact that these court cases take years more often not. If this court case takes a year, because at this point, the starting of these cases was January this year in terms of like the actual start January of this year we can even backtrack and say maybe December December to now what nine months uh eight eight months right that was what I had uh that's what I had originally calculated on was based on December so we're we're somewhere in the eight month range okay so we're at about eight months so three quarters of a year and or I'm

Starting point is 00:12:43 sorry two thirds of a year rather I don't know where I got three quarters from two thirds of a year and we're looking at $3 million already. Who we. This, again, this is going to be one of those moments that we look back at as a, and that this is no pun intended, a similar moment in terms of what happened with realignment. And then in terms of what happened with this university, this conference, because I'm going to tell you, somebody's going to lose big here. Somebody's not going to, I very highly doubt that this is a situation where it ends up being

Starting point is 00:13:18 the like, hey, we all give what we want. You know, we got to let you go, but you pay a beast amount. I've had a feeling somebody is going to lose majorly in this one, and I'm very interested to see who which side of this is. Well, you got to wonder, of course, what happens on the field this year, and you and I probably care more about that that we do about this legal stuff, although I'm very intrigued by the legal stuff. How about this prediction from Greg McElroy from Always College Sports?

Starting point is 00:13:45 He actually has Kenton, Florida State versus Miami, in the ACC championship game. And he's got Miami over Florida State to win that game. In his words, there's more known commodities on the Miami roster. They've been able to upgrade it at every position. And, you know, I don't, when it comes to the commodities on the roster, like there's a reason why Miami has more preseason all-ACC, selections than any other team in the conference. I don't think anybody doubts that the talent is there. And I even say this as a guy who went to Miami and covers Miami. I just have a wait and see

Starting point is 00:14:24 approach because I have faith. I have faith in the players and I do have faith in the coaches, probably more than a lot of people do. But for me, it's just about putting it all together, right? Because you do have, which is also the case with Florida State, a lot of new faces on both sides. But Miami's got a lot to put together and, you know, fingers crossed that they can stay healthy and that the talent actually aligns this year. Listen, I hate to say it. You know, Greg McElroy, shout out to him. He's a college football life for pretty much.

Starting point is 00:14:55 Yeah. The reality is simple. As much as I want to believe in Miami, the media has done the best job we can. We ain't always got it right in terms of who is the best team and who should have the most all-ACC selections. For example, last year, do you remember the team that lay? in terms of total A, all ACC selections preseason?

Starting point is 00:15:17 Ooh, I don't. Take a wild guess. Take a wild guess on who it was. I don't know, Clemson? Correct. And where did that get them? Where did they end? You see what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:15:31 Like, I didn't know that. Don't get me wrong. And listen, nine wins from Miami will be a good season. It would keep them away from that I'll take I had on, hey, this guy, he may get up out of it. But in all seriousness, there is a point in time where, you know, I'm beyond waiting to see with Miami because secretly I've always loved Miami. I've always loved Warren Sapp is the reason I always wanted to wear 99 growing up. Wow.

Starting point is 00:15:58 I never wanted to wear any number other than 99 because of Warren Sapp. And when I found out that Warren Sap ran with all these guys that were just as bad as he was at Miami, I'm like, oh, man, that college. And then I found out how cool those guys were. I was like, oh, my God, these are just, you know, hey, they have fun living on the edge and doing it their way. And yet, year after year after year, I would look up and say, oh, Miami's disappointing again. That sucks. You know, like, year after year, I would look up and see that this team wasn't it. So at some point in time, you know, Greg McElroyce, shout out to you again, much love to you.

Starting point is 00:16:34 I'm beyond waiting seat. I'm a full out pessimist until Miami. Wow. I'm sorry. I can't do it. I don't believe you. You need more people. They're going to make a believer out of Kenton Gibbs this year, I'm telling you. Now, when we come back, when we come back for anyone having money problems, if you're looking for the big NIL score, if you're looking for some private equity,

Starting point is 00:16:57 maybe you need some money to buy your way out of the conference that you're in, head on over to Saudi Arabia. Somebody already tried it. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode. of Locked on ACC. Oh, guys, and you know I'm not done with Game Time. I will never be done with Game Time because we're getting the best deals on tickets. This is the only ticket app that Kent and Gibbs and I use because we know we're getting the best prices, the best features, and the prices actually go down the closer you get to the event.

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Starting point is 00:19:02 Guys, you want to check out our Locked on conference previews. We've got them out for the ACC, for the Big 10, the SEC, the Big 12. Make sure you're subscribing to Lockdown College football on YouTube. won't miss a second of the action. You want to be prepared for all the action coming up, which starts on Saturday, by the way, Florida State taking on Georgia Tech in Ireland. We've got you covered on our big conference previews, Kenton Gibbs and I worry. A big part of the ACC preview. Now, Kenton, this is not an ACC story, at least not yet, but this could become a thing anywhere. So I know that like taking money from the public investment

Starting point is 00:19:42 fund in Saudi Arabia, the PIF, that's their sovereign wealth fund. I guess it's not technically illegal, but I think it would be frowned upon by a lot of Americans. I mean, I guess if Saudi Arabia turns you down, you can always go to China. If China turns you down, you can always try North Korea. It's not the best look. Colorado tried to do it. Okay. So this former Colorado assistant coach, Trevor Riley, after he resigned on August. first, and apparently he's got no ill will towards coach prime or anybody on the football staff, but I guess he's got a bone to pick with the Colorado administration. This is a story from the Colorado Buffalo Sports Illustrated page.

Starting point is 00:20:27 So Trevor Riley went on the record about trying to pull in funding for the school's 5430 NIL collective. He expressed to Sports Illustrated that there were no bad feelings between anyone with the program, but rather he was at odds with a few people in Colorado's administration. Riley said he spent time in the Middle East this past holiday season lobbying Saudi Arabia's public investment fund known as PIF for name, image, and likeness funding on behalf of Colorado football. A copy of what Riley says was in his resignation letter to see you athletic director Rick George and Sanders. That was reviewed by Sports Illustrated. He said, quote, the arrangement was that because I did all the NIL work at Jackson and got us through, you guys would pay me.

Starting point is 00:21:12 a modest salary and make me the special teams coordinator, which should have freed up time for me to handle NIL activities. He paid me $90,000 last year. Let me handle special teams. I did all this work in your name and was told to pursue it. I burned through all my contacts in my Mormon community, he said, which is worth about $3 trillion. Now I can't get these people to answer my calls because I just found out today that none of my endeavors will happen, he said. I even went to Saudi Arabia and got a meeting with the Saudis who were interested in pursuing business. I have email receipts to prove it, and you guys let it fall flat on its face. I guess somebody decided that the Saudi Arabian money wasn't a good idea.

Starting point is 00:21:53 But Kenton, I mean, if Colorado tried this, others might try to do something like this. And maybe not so much the NIL, which is more visible, but private equity, you could pretty easily get money from Saudi Arabia through some shell company and make it look like it's something. else. Yeah, this is, this is so interesting because, I mean, and I hate to even be broaching on this subject because it feels so bizarre a world that we are now talking about private equity from overseas coming in and kind of taking care of sports here. But this is, I mean, this is kind of the way of the world now. Every dollar is being chased. Every bit of juice is being squeezed out of every fruit. That's, it's so unfortunate to see that we have gone down this path with college athletics.

Starting point is 00:22:43 And again, I'm going to say this because I know that the people are going to look at this and say, well, it's NIL money. If the players weren't getting paid, we wouldn't be here. But again, this started with the coaches when they started getting paid, these absorberance salaries to where we had never seen anything like it before. And every state's highest paid state employee is a football or basketball. coach at these schools. It started when Nike and Adidas and New Balance and Converse got into the college clothing apparel game and said, hey, we'll pay you X amount. Don't sit here and talk about

Starting point is 00:23:20 the end result of, oh, the players are getting paid now and that's why we're looking at it. No, no, no, no, no, no. Let's get to the root of this thing. When you let money get in for just a certain amount of people. You had to know it was going to spread, it was going to permeate, it was going to touch everything like the cancer that greed is. And that's where we are. And this is something

Starting point is 00:23:44 that the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund probably really wants, because for those who haven't been paying attention, they're heavily involved in international sports already. You've seen with Live Golf and the PGA tour, you may be aware if you're an international soccer fan. They own several European soccer clubs outright, and

Starting point is 00:24:02 they have money invested in others. So this is something that people refer to as like sports washing. And it's, you know, so the idea of maybe getting your hand in the cookie jar of college athlete, because it'd probably be easier to do that. Like for the Saudis to get involved in the NFL would be more difficult because it's such a tight-knit group of owners that you could more easily block this from happening. But in college football, it's kind of every, every, you know, school for themselves here. So I could see college football as being a,

Starting point is 00:24:32 other in for them in American sports. And again, it's like not illegal to take the oil money. I've got a lot of money over there. It's not illegal, but it's something that probably a lot of Americans would frown upon. So it kind of depends on what kind of a PR hit you'd be willing to take. Yeah, absolutely. And here's the biggest thing. While we are talking about PR hitting all that, again, we live in America.

Starting point is 00:24:57 The attention span is about this long. We're going to be, folks are going to be upset at it. whichever team takes Saudi money first for all the three days. And then it's, well, that's still dear old state. Well, that's still my university. Well, that's still my team. And they've been my team forever. And I'm just, you know, you can say what you want about us taking Saudi money.

Starting point is 00:25:16 But we have a lazy river now. We wouldn't have a lazy river otherwise. That's what this is going to turn. Yeah. No, you're right about that. Well, we appreciate everyone tuning in. And by the way, the next time we speak, we're going to be reviewing a game, Florida State and Georgia Tech. If you missed our preview of that earlier this week, you can check it out on Locked on ACC.

Starting point is 00:25:36 We sat down with Brian Smith from Locked on Knowles. Florida State will probably win. If they do, we'll talk about it. If they don't, we'll talk about it. We'll talk to you guys next time on another episode of Locked on ACCC. Oh, go ahead. And just a quick note to the listeners, by the time you are hearing the sound of my voice saying this, that he said, she said, the fans said, we'll be up.

Starting point is 00:25:58 It will be up. Dono and I are both firmly picking Florida State. I don't think that that should surprise anybody. So the first week's edition of he said, she said the fans said, we'll be up. I know some of y'all are going to say it's very short notice. We know who's going to go to this game.

Starting point is 00:26:14 And we know it's going to be by a lot. Okay. Now, if somebody want to take Georgia Decker Proof is right, if the fans want to go against the grain and take Georgia Tech Proof is wrong, we'll be very excited to see it. But anywho, we appreciate y'all. And come on back and keep voting on these teams.

Starting point is 00:26:28 We'll talk to you next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC, part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team, every day.

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Mediation Between Florida State & The ACC Fails | NIL Deals From Saudi Arabia?

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