Former Florida State star Danny Kanell is concerned about the future of his beloved program.
Kanell explained his feelings during an appearance on WJOX 94.5 today. In short, the onetime NFL quarterback and ex-ESPN analyst sees the landscape of college football changing, and he’s afraid of FSU being left behind.
“If nothing changes, as far as the TV contracts that the ACC has with ESPN, I’m terrified for Florida State’s future,” Kanell said. “Because they will fall behind every team in the SEC. They will fall behind every team in the Big Ten. It is an arms race that we see in college football, and we’ve seen the Big Ten and SEC pull away with these TV deals that they’ve got.”
Kanell went on to call the current ESPN/ACC contract, which runs through 2036, “one of the worst TV deals negotiated in the history of college football.”
He also added that Florida State is more beholden to the financial structures of television deals than rival Miami, which has billionaire booster John Ruiz to help with NIL and other funding.
One of two things must happen for Kanell to feel better about the direction of his alma mater.
“(Florida State) needs the ACC to renegotiate or ESPN to step in and say ‘you know what, it’s not great for college football if our teams are getting half of the revenues that the teams in the Big Ten or SEC [get]. Their teams are going to fall behind’, he said. “Or FSU finds their way out of the conference [and into the SEC or Big Ten].”
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