The College Football Playoff is nearing a deal to expand to 24 teams, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz confirms. The new format is slated to debut in 2027, but final approvals are still required.
The 30-day negotiating window between the CFP and ESPN was set to close at the end of last week, but was extended when playoff officials activated a clause that gave the network five more business days to review the numbers.
Playoff expansion has felt inevitable for some time now. The only question was how many teams would be included. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey publicly supported a 16-team playoff, but the CFP is going well beyond that to double the field next year.
The CFP debuted in a four-team format at the end of the 2014 season with Ohio State winning the national championship. A decade later, in 2024, the playoff was expanded to 12 teams, and Ohio State was once again the first team to make it through the larger bracket.
Expansion to 24 teams brings even more questions about a variety of topics, including whether it signals the end of conference championship games.
"They're gonna be gone," said CBS Sports' John Talty on Thursday's College Football Insiders following the expansion news. "That's the reality of the situation."
CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello reports that one sticking point from conference commissioners was offsetting the financial losses that would come with eliminating championship games.
Marcello estimates that the CFP could offer an additional $320 million on top of the current contract, which averages $1.2 billion per year. Here are further takeaways from Marcello's previous reporting on CFP's march towards expansion.
How the Big Ten and SEC got to 24 teams
The move toward a 24-team College Football Playoff followed a year of debate and negotiation, with the sport's two most powerful conferences initially advocating for different approaches.
The Big Ten pushed for a 24-team field, while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey favored a 12- or 16-team structure that would preserve his conference's championship game.
The breakthrough came in September, when both leagues agreed to evaluate the larger bracket. Sankey had outlined key prerequisites in a memo: offsetting lost SEC championship game revenue and requiring at least 10 regular-season games against power-conference opponents.
The Big Ten and SEC hold ultimate authority over the playoff format. Their deadline to finalize a decision was Dec. 1.
Why replacing conference championship revenue was central
Expanding to 24 teams required making room on the calendar, putting conference championship games -- and the revenue they generate -- at the center of negotiations.
CFP executives expected to seek roughly $70 million to $80 million above the nearly $250 million combined value of those championship games, sources familiar with the process told CBS Sports. That put the potential additional annual rights fee at more than $320 million, on top of ESPN's existing agreement, which averages $1.3 billion annually.
ESPN's position made the negotiations particularly consequential. The network already holds the rights to the ACC, Big 12 and SEC championship games. Industry sources said ESPN could redirect those rights fees toward an expanded playoff agreement. Disney Advertising also manages official corporate sponsorship packages for the ACC and SEC.
The CFP's exclusive 30-day negotiating window with ESPN expired Oct. 9 without an agreement, sources told CBS Sports. The sides had exchanged proposals but remained far apart on the numbers earlier that week.
Despite the expiration, the CFP said in an Oct. 10 statement that discussions with ESPN were continuing.
How a 24-team playoff would change December
The model under discussion included 23 at-large teams and one guaranteed spot for the Group of Six, with no automatic bids for conference champions.
CFP executive director Rich Clark told CBS Sports that the expanded first round and a new second round would be played on campus. New Year's Six bowls would host the quarterfinals and semifinals.
That structure would reshape the December calendar. With the playoff beginning during the second week of the month, discussions included moving Army-Navy from the second Saturday in December to the first — the date traditionally reserved for conference championship games.
The result would be two rounds of campus playoff games before the bracket shifts to bowl sites.
What comes next for television rights and revenue
The negotiations leading up to expansion involved more than the size of the bracket. They also raised questions about who would broadcast the additional games and how the resulting revenue would be distributed.
ESPN's existing six-year, $7.8 billion agreement runs through the 2031-32 season and covers a field of up to 14 teams at no additional cost.
During negotiations, some involved remained confident ESPN would retain the entire playoff, sources told CBS Sports. An alternative under consideration was splitting the rights among multiple networks to meet the CFP's financial goals. ESPN retains certain matching rights if the package reaches the open market.
Dividing the additional money could also become a point of contention. Under the existing arrangement, the Big Ten and SEC each receive about 29% of CFP revenue, compared with approximately 17% for the ACC and 15% for the Big 12. The Group of Six and Notre Dame divide the remainder.
