Does Clemson has its Loophole in ACC’s Grant of Rights?

CLEMSON — It appears Clemson University may have found its preverbal loophole in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s “Ironclad” Grant of Rights.

League officials and others, since it was signed in 2016, have said the ACC’s GOR were “Ironclad.” However, Clemson might have an argument that it is not.

In a motion filed this past Friday, Clemson’s lawyers revealed why it believes the ACC cannot own its GOR after it leaves the conference. They are focused on how the word “is” is used in the league’s ESPN Agreement.

Friday’s motion revealed paragraphs that were originally redacted in Clemson’s April 17 complaint that are now allowed to be seen by the public. The ACC and ESPN had concerns that those paragraphs might reveal some of ESPN’s ways of doing business, but Clemson, with the ACC’s okay, was permitted to reveal the paragraphs.

According to Friday’s motion, Clemson granted certain media rights to the ACC in an agreement executed in 2013 and amended in 2016. That agreement provides, however, that Clemson granted the league only media rights as were “necessary for the Conference to perform the contractual obligations of the Conference” set forth in the media agreements with ESPN.

Clemson’s lawyers contest the proper scope of Clemson’s GOR can only be understood by reference to certain agreements between the ACC and ESPN, agreements that are not within public view. Those agreements reveal that Clemson’s grant of media rights to the ACC was more limited than the ACC maintains.

Clemson’s claim is “the contractual obligations of the Conference” did not include providing media rights to games played by a school “after” that school exits the ACC. The media rights to games played while Clemson “is” a member of the ACC are the only rights necessary for the ACC to perform the obligations under the league’s media agreements with ESPN.

The media rights to games played at a time when Clemson is not a member of the ACC were never a part of any grant of rights, according to the motion.

Clemson says it has and currently is satisfying all contractual obligations as a member institution of the ACC that are laid out in the ESPN Agreement.

In other words, as Clemson has argued since this all began on March 19, the ACC owns Clemson’s GOR as long as Clemson “is” a member of the ACC. They also can replay games and own the rights to those games when Clemson was a league member.

However, Clemson believes the ACC does not own the rights to future games when Clemson is no longer an ACC school.

On Friday, Judge Perry H. Gravely denied the ACC’s motion to dismiss the case in the state of South Carolina in a Pickens County Courthouse. The judge said Clemson proved specific jurisdiction and ruled in the university’s favor .

Clemson also filed an appeal on Judge Louis Bledsoe’s ruling from the July 2 hearing in the state of North Carolina.

photo by Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK

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