OT: State of Florida Going After CFP

Submitted by andrew_ on December 12th, 2023 at 9:08 PM

Florida is amazing in so many ways. This is not one of them - The State A.G. has decided to be a silly person and go after the CFP via the courts. https://twitter.com/AGAshleyMoody/status/1734683110363807769

This is clearly silly (I can't overuse that word in this context) political posturing, but some FSU law alum types I'm friends with down here have said that despite the politicking aspect, it's actually about the lost revenue from not being selected. I haven issue with that for a few reasons:
 

  1. It's a shakedown at best, because nothing will be actionable for remedy other than a payout
  2. It sets a bad precedent
  3. It's another lens into college football being nothing more than a state-run business, concerned more about revenue than anything else

But I am also a cynic. 

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FrankMurphy

December 12th, 2023 at 9:17 PM ^

It's a cheap populist move that will go nowhere. And they'll forget all about it when FSU bolts the ACC for the SEC or the B1G. Orrin Hatch did the same thing in the BCS days when Utah was kept out of the NCG despite an 11-0 record (Utah was a member of the MWC then). Nothing came of that, and they forgot all about it when Utah was invited to join the Pac-12.

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Humen

December 12th, 2023 at 9:19 PM ^

It seems designed to score political points for the AG, sure, but I have no problem with the CFP facing discovery requests. That is basically what this is. 

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Blue@LSU

December 12th, 2023 at 9:39 PM ^

despite the politicking aspect, it's actually about the lost revenue from not being selected.

I was under the impression that the money goes to the conference, which has it's own rules for dividing the money.

A CFP appearance pays out $6 million, while the Orange Bowl appearance pays out $4 million. If that were going straight to FSU, then it would be a significant loss of compensation.   

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JonnyHintz

December 12th, 2023 at 10:15 PM ^

A $2 million dollar difference isn’t really a significant loss of compensation in the scope of a major college program’s revenue. FSU generated $161 million in athletics revenue in the 2022 fiscal year for example. $2 million isn’t really a significant difference. That’s like a $600 annual difference for someone making $50k. Sure it’s “more” but what’re you really going to do making an extra $11.50 a week? 
 

At any rate, I’d assume FSU would approach $2 million in legal fees even attempting to take this through the courts. So outside of political grandstanding and some saber rattling, I don’t get the point of all of this. I’m no lawyer, but I don’t see what legal ground they have to stand on. The CFP guidelines allow them to choose the participants based on their own opinions. Those guidelines allow for them to consider injuries in their deliberations. Seems pretty open and shut. Whether you agree with the decision or not, the CFP was within their rights to eliminate FSU from CFP consideration.

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canzior

December 13th, 2023 at 7:01 AM ^

Didn't the ACC approve unequal revenue sharing this year?  Exposure from making the CFP, merchandise sales would've been insane like it was for Michigan when they got to the CFP. And I've seen a story out there that ESPN benefitted from Bama over FSU by around $150 million, so somewhere there is more money at play potentially. 

It's still all ridiculous. 

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Clarence Boddicker

December 12th, 2023 at 9:57 PM ^

I'm guessing that A.G. is running for election and looking for FSU alum/fan votes. It's pointless but will allow for the grandstanding press conferences local news people happily gobble up and regurgitate

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redhed

December 13th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^

You're living in the past a bit here but also not necessarily wrong.  Right now, FSU is 18th and UF is 5th in the most recent US News public university rankings.  Yeah, Florida is higher, but the "little brother" hierarchy that fits so perfectly in Michigan isn't so clear in Florida today with both being top 20 universities.  The current state of athletics makes it even more level.  Finally, any campus that has it's own Big Top circus, isn't a little brother to anybody in my eyes

 

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Bluesince89

December 13th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^

Nessel is a Michigan grad and Whitmer did make a statement of support. Michigan was already handling the process, so there was no need for the state to intervene. And Nessel and Whitmer are term limited, so they don't need to grandstand for cheap political points that are actually going nowhere. 

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Bluesince89

December 13th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^

I'm not. Michigan was handling the situation and was in a much, much, much better position to handle it than the AG's office. This is a cheap political stunt meant to rile up the rubes for whatever her next electoral venture is. It will go no where and it will be removed to Court and quashed or the powers that be will tell her to pound sand and go enforce it in Court. It'll go no where there and she'll be able to say, "Well, I tried but the Courts blocked me" and absolve herself while getting brownie points.

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Maynard

December 13th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^

Meh. Agree on leaving Michigan winters, but not to Florida. People in Florida spend almost, if not the same, time indoors over the course of a year, just for the opposite reasons. Give me MANY other states over Florida. Hawaii, Southern coastal California, North Carolina, etc.

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