CFP opens 30-day ESPN window on 24-team playoff — SkimNews
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- College Football Playoff leaders agreed to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN, their strongest signal yet of interest in a 24-team field that could begin as soon as 2027, though the CFP emphasized this is "not a decision or commitment to expand."
- ESPN controls the existing 11-game CFP package and the first two newly added games regardless of outcome, and will remain sole rights holder as long as the format stays at 12 or 14 teams; if expansion passes 14, ESPN has exclusive first negotiation rights before the additional 10 games can hit the open market.
- Power 4 conference championship games carry media value of at least $200 million, a figure the negotiating window must weigh against any new revenue a 24-team field would generate.
- The Big Ten and SEC must agree on a future format by Dec. 1 for any change to take effect next season, per the memorandum of understanding signed by CFP management committee members.
- The proposed 24-team format would include the 23 best teams plus one Group of 6 spot with no automatic qualifiers, eight first-round games on campus, and byes for the top eight seeds.
- The season would shift to begin on what's now called Week 0 and end on Thanksgiving weekend, with organizers considering moving the Army-Navy game to the following Saturday to avoid conflicting with conference title games.
- Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who first pushed the 24-team idea in February, said in May his preferred media partner is "whomever's committed to making it work," while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has said publicly he is open to consideration but not yet committed.
Why it matters: A 24-team CFP would reshape the sport's calendar and economics: the season would shift to end on Thanksgiving weekend, the Army-Navy game could be displaced, and Power 4 conferences would have to decide by Dec. 1 whether the new revenue justifies surrendering conference championship games worth at least $200 million in media value alone.
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