In notable decision, judge orders ACC to allow Clemson to study ESPN agreements

Clemson is set to get an extra look at the ACC/ESPN contract.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Friday, May 03 2024

Clemson University lawyers may soon get to study in-depth the contract between the Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN.

Pickens County (SC) Judge Perry H. Gravely ordered the ACC to turn the contract over to Clemson within seven days on Friday morning.

Clemson University took the Atlantic Coast Conference to court over its grant of media rights and exit fees in March, with the school seeking damages from the conference over alleged false statements regarding its media rights.

The 2013 and 2016 ACC Grant of Rights have been publicly available, but the document(s) that the ACC will only allow the schools to view in North Carolina under guard and with prior permission are the ACC’s agreements with ESPN.

ACC member schools must obtain permission to view the ESPN agreements, travel to North Carolina to see them, and not copy them, take pictures of them, or take handwritten notes of their verbatim language.

In a separate lawsuit the conference filed against Florida State, the league filed a motion to keep the ESPN agreement sealed and unavailable to the public, arguing that it was a trade secret.

Also, in an amended complaint that was filed on April 17 in Pickens County and made public Thursday, Clemson asked the court to "award Clemson damages to be determined at trial, including the costs of litigation, for harm caused by the ACC's misstatements and slander of Clemson's title to its media rights and other tangible property."

Clemson and Florida State are the only two ACC schools that have sued the conference. Both schools' complaints are in an initial legal step for both to potentially leave the conference and join the SEC or Big Ten.

Friday’s decision centered on the agreements between the ACC and ESPN, which have been shrouded in confidentiality. Clemson, the plaintiff, sought access to these agreements as part of their case strategy. However, the ACC argued that the contents of these documents should remain confidential until the court could determine the extent of their protection.

After deliberation, the judge issued the notable order, dubbed an "Interim Confidentiality Protective Order." This order was not just a legal decree but a shield guarding the sensitive information within those ESPN agreements.

Under the judge's directive, the ACC was compelled to provide unredacted copies of the ESPN agreements to Clemson, albeit marked with the seal of confidentiality. The league can appeal the decision.

Clemson was bound by the order not to disclose the agreements to anyone beyond a select few, including their legal counsel and certain personnel necessary for the litigation. Even within these confines, stringent measures were in place to prevent any inadvertent disclosure. However, for the first time, this allows Clemson’s attorneys to study the documents in-depth.

Meanwhile, the ACC retained the right to be notified in the event of any Freedom of Information Act requests about the ESPN agreements. This provision ensured that the ACC could intervene if necessary to safeguard the confidentiality of the documents.

Ruling on ESPN contract