Why Florida State is working with JPMorgan Chase, per report

The reason Florida State has not left the ACC, as it becomes clear there isn’t going to be a change in revenue structure coming, is a large exit fee (that equates to three times the revenue earned the year prior to departure) and a grant of media rights that runs through 2036.

At a Board of Trustees Meeting on Wednesday, FSU president Richard McCullough called the school’s situation “an existential crisis.”

On Friday, Sportico reported that FSU is looking into a unique way to raise funds:  

“Florida State University is working with JPMorgan Chase to explore how the school’s athletic department could raise capital from institutional funds, such as private equity, according to multiple people familiar with the plans.

“PE giant Sixth Street is in advanced talks to lead a possible investment, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the specifics are private. Institutional money has poured into professional sports in recent years, from the NBA and global soccer to F1 and golf, but this would break new ground by entering the multibillion-dollar world of college athletic departments.

“The school is considering a structure similar to many of those pro sports investments, where commercial rights are rolled into a new company, the private equity fund invests in that entity, and then recoups its money via future media/sponsorship revenue. That’s how Silver Lake structured its investment into the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, and how CVC organized its $2.2 billion Spanish soccer deal with LaLiga.”

The Sportico article stated it reached out to representatives for the FSU athletic department, JPMorgan Chase and Sixth Street, but all declined to comment.

Reach Ehsan Kassim at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.