So let me just restate my original post with the corrected assumptions:
Let’s say the value of the ESPN contract is 40 million per school. We know from the special section Notre Dame in the ACC bylaws that the value of football is 80% of that contract. Notre Dame football is independent and not a part of the ACC contract. so the value of Notre Dame‘s grant of rights to the ACC for everything but football would be equal to $8 million a year. The ACC grant of rights runs through 2036. So Notre Dame is theoretically on the hook for $112 million over 14 years. If you consider the time value of money and discount that back to a single payment, depending upon the assumption to use, it’s probably 70 million give or take.
Now keep in mind that’s just the grant of rights. They also have to pay whatever exit fee is applicable. The bylaws provide that the exit fee is equal to three times the operating budget of the ACC. The ACC takes a full membership share for their operating budget. So under our hypothetical $40 million annual distribution the exit fee would be $120 million. That means collectively they can get out of their partial conference membership for approximately $190 to $212 million.
Now, if you had the opportunity to make $100 million per year, every year on a go forward basis, would you be willing to pay $190 million for that privilege? If Notre Dame decides it wants to leave the ACC, the cost of exiting isn’t going to stop it.
Thanks to
@TerryD,
@JeepCSC and
@FfldCntyFan for their help filling in the pieces