Saban Blasts 24-Team CFP Expansion: 'The Bottom Line Is Money' — SkimNews
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- Nick Saban said Friday on ESPN that he'd support a 16-team playoff with conference championship games serving as play-ins — creating a 20-team field — rather than the planned 24-team expansion.
- The new College Football Playoff format will use a "19+4+1" model: 19 at-large bids, four reserved for Power Four conference champions, and one for the highest-rated Group of Six champion, effectively eliminating conference title games.
- The SEC stands to lose an estimated $100 million in revenue by losing its conference championship game under the 24-team format.
- Saban attributed the expansion to financial pressure, saying "The bottom line is money" as universities face rising player compensation costs and the cost of funding Olympic sports.
- CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello reported this week the CFP could offer an additional $320 million on top of the current contract, which Saban suggested is driving the expansion.
- SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said a final decision on expansion was coming "sooner rather than later," after the SEC and Big Ten had been at a stalemate — with the Big Ten preferring 24 teams and the SEC preferring a 16-team "5+11" format.
Why it matters: The SEC faces an estimated $100 million revenue hit from losing its conference championship game in a 24-team playoff, even as CBS Sports reports the expanded CFP could distribute an additional $320 million — a financial tug-of-war Saban says is forcing the bigger bracket on reluctant conferences.
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