NCAA Football: William & Mary at Virginia
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The ACC is mulling an amended revenue distribution model that could reward high-performing members with additional revenue. Conference administrators spoke about different options during their annual meetings in Florida this week. 

One proposed model shared by Florida State athletic director Michael Alford to 247Sports would have the ACC provide merit-based rewards contingent on winning in the postseason. Individual payouts could clear $10 million per season, a significant increase relative to the $36.1 million total distributed to ACC schools in 2021. 

"We have to look at revenue differently," ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN. "And I feel good about that." 

The news comes amid reports that seven ACC schools have banded together to evaluate whether breaking the conference's grant of rights is feasible. The league signed a massive 20-year television contract with ESPN that runs through 2036, and while the deal brings stability in the form of a long-term grant of rights, it also puts a cap on league revenue and distribution as fees skyrocket. 

The Big Ten signed a contract with CBS, NBC and Fox that will pay league members $75 million per season in average value. The Big 12 locked in a short-term contract with ESPN and Fox that will push the league past $31 million on average across the deal. The ACC's contract with ESPN paid out nearly $30 million per school in 2021 in the sixth year of the 20-year deal that features escalating value each year. 

"We're going to continue to do what's best for Clemson," Clemson athletic director Graham Neff told 247Sports. "That means strengthening and supporting the ACC and being a proud member, but also just making sure that we're very connected in doing what's best for Clemson." 

The potential of an expanded revenue model appears to have quieted discussions on trying to break the grant of rights, which could prove prohibitively costly. Even if schools pay the exit fees, they will have to separately negotiate the release of television rights to join a new conference. 

"I think some of that — a lot of that is overblown," Alford said. "The future of the ACC, in that room, we're together, and we're coming up with a lot of solutions with one another."

Texas and Oklahoma announced will join the SEC from the Big 12 on July 1, 2024. Despite the massive financial windfall brought on by the move, the schools were only able to negotiate an exit one year early -- at the cost of $50 million each, along with potential inventory compensation from ESPN to Fox. USC and UCLA, who will join the Big Ten on the same date, opted to wait until the Pac-12 TV contract expires in 2024 to avoid the issue altogether.