AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Jim Phillips did not try and sugarcoat the fact the Atlantic Coast Conference is behind the Big Ten and SEC when it comes to revenue distribution.

Last year, the Big Ten distributed right at $51 million to each of its schools. The SEC was just above $50 million, while the ACC distributed $39.4 million to its schools.

With their new television deals going into effect, those dollars are only going to increase for the Big Ten and the SEC, while the ACC will see minimal dollars when it comes to an increase. To throw salt on an already bad wound, the league will now make $8 million to $9 million less than those conferences when it comes to revenue sharing from the College Football Playoff.

“When you look at some of the metrics being used, etc., that were used in that calculation, that is where we have performed,” Commissioner Phillips said Wednesday as the ACC wrapped up its spring meetings from the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island. “We performed at the 17 to 18 percent, and Clemson has been the carrier of that, right? The Big Ten has performed at the 27 or 28 percent and the SEC has performed at the 44 or 45 percent.”

What it means is the SEC and the Big Ten will receive about $22 million from the CFP, while the ACC will get $13- to $14 million and the Big 12 will land about $12 million per school.

Though the numbers backup Phillips statement, it still seems like the ACC got a raw deal. Clemson and Florida State combined to play in seven of the 10 CFPs. Clemson at one point went to six straight CFPs and the ACC was represented in seven consecutive playoffs.

Clemson, of course, won two national championships and played for it two more times in those six years it made the playoffs. Clemson’s two national titles are one behind Alabama’s three and tied with Georgia.

Clemson is the only team in the CFP era to make the playoff six straight times.

“It was about trying to come together and get to the right number. I felt like I negotiated hard just like every conference did,” Phillips said. “We got to a place where at the end of the day… Do you love it? You don’t love it, but it is certainly better than where we started. It is more than we have ever had, relative to CFP dollars.

“I understand it causes an even greater gap.”

And there is the problem. The ACC is getting further and further behind the Big Ten and the SEC.

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