The exit fee is the exit fee. The BE had one as does the AAC and every conference. How it was established is key. If it was established in accordance with bylaws, then MD loses one leg of its defense (See BE vs BC; only part of CR that ever went to trial. The BE lost because it did not follow its bylaws). On the punitive nature, that is something that all of our legal posters have gone on about in many other threads. That is where MD may have a case but if they are going to be making equal money in the B1G (or more), then as a mere lay person, the question of it being punitive is not really clear to me particularly if their media market is as lucrative and key as the B1G intimates that it is. And this is where the ugly parts will unfold if it goes to court. Discovery is a two way tool and could drag a lot of key people, secret meetings, documents, etc, on both sides into the light.
Of course, the money grubbing lawyers want this to drag on as long as possible, because, at the end of the day, they are the only ones that win no matter the result. They only lose if there is a quick settlement.