The ACC/ESPN contract currently runs through 2036. Depending on what side of the legal fence one resides, ESPN has until February 2025 to extend the deal past the 2026 season. Neither side can walk away or renegotiate unless something changes the contract (composition of the conference). I believe what Josh Pate is continually referring to (as he mentions the lawyers he has contact with) is that once SMU is added and once FSU leaves, the composition of the conference has changed by two teams. And ESPN has already horse traded the end result to share rights with FOX/WBD in their Venu partnership. It's a done deal, just waiting on the official announcement. Following the money trail, the question becomes...does ESPN make more money with FSU/Clemson in the ACC or did they find another way to make more money keeping the ACC together without those two teams while getting Tier 1 partnership rights for FSU/Clemson versus the Michigan, Ohio State and USC teams of the world? Point being, ESPN is making that call. The ACC has no choice if they want the ESPN contract. None of this has anything to do with the current lawsuits, which is why I refer to the court rooms as Kabuki theatre. My intel chatter has more to do with what Notre Dame and UNC are doing now in this chaos. That FSU/Clemson is in the rear view mirror. It's always seemed palpable that the ACC cannot survive if UNC bolts. That is a BOG mess and I have no idea what that end result will be. Maybe ESPN makes an offer they cannot refuse to UNC, but it would have to involve unequal revenue sharing.