It’s official, the College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams.
After just three years with twelve teams, the CFP committee and ESPN have agreed to a new deal that will see an increase to the number of teams allowed into the postseason tournament.
The move will also signal the end of conference championship games for a majority of the leagues around the sport, with ESPN having to pay for these games to go away to make room for the expanded playoff.
The five-year deal is worth nearly $1.7 billion, which was first reported by ESPN.
There have been ongoing discussions between the network and the CFP over when the right time would be for a move. At first, there was a growing consensus that a move to 16 teams could be in the works for a number of years before making the full transition to 24 teams.
But, money talks, and after the network said they would take care of the costs that come with the elimination of conference title games for the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, the decision was made to move forward with an additional 24 teams starting in 2027.
“The Southeastern Conference announced today that the 2026 SEC Football Championship Game will be the final edition of the event,” the SEC said in a statement. “The decision coincides with the College Football Playoff’s expansion to a 24-team format.
“The 2026 SEC Football Championship Game, to be played on December 5 in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will be the 35th edition of the game that began in 1992.”
While the Power-4 conferences have released statements about their title games, the Group of Six conferences are still deciding.
No, this is not a popular move for fans of the sport, with former Alabama head coach Nick Saban recently making some strong comments against the idea of having that many teams competing for a national championship on a yearly basis.
“Too many. There’s not 24 teams in the country that can win a National Championship,” Nick Saban told the Kelce brothers on the New Heights podcast. “So, what is the reason to actually do it? It’s about the money. What you’re giving up, which I hate to see, the SEC Championship Game, playing in the SEC Championship was a big thing for our players, it was a big thing to our fans. It was a tradition and it was a great venue.
“I mean, there’s only two teams who can play in a National Championship, but more teams can play in those kind of championship games. There’s a lot of pride in winning the conference championship.”
It was only a matter of time before the postseason would be expanded again. And to think just 10 months CFP leaders were discussing a 4-team increase.
A 12-team CFP lasted just three years. Now, change is on the immediate horizon
Following the national championship game to conclude the 2026 season in Las Vegas, there will be a new era in the sport that seems to just love changing things on a consistent basis.
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No, there was no need for the quick-trigger to help change the sport of college football once again, but it always feels as though money wins in these situations.
Here are the key bullet points to the new expansion.
- The 24-team CFP field will be comprised of the four conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC (as determined by their respective conferences), the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, OR Sun Belt; and the 19 highest-ranked remaining teams in the final CFP Selection Committee ranking.
- 16 of the 23 Playoff games will be played on campus (up from four), building on the success of the on-campus games from the current 12-team format.
- No CFP games will be scheduled in conflict with the historic Army – Navy game.
- CFP Quarterfinals and CFP Semifinals will continue to be played at the six CFP bowl partner locations (Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, Sugar)
Sure, there will be plenty of folks that argue conference title games have lost their luster. To that point, I would say look at the chaotic 2026 season and ramifications that are being seen with leagues across the country who are depending on a conference title game to secure their spot in the postseason, like the ACC and Big 12.
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Yes, the money is needed across athletic departments that are struggling to stay afloat in this new era of NIL and revenue-sharing.
But, just making the 24-team playoff is not going to bring job security to coaches across the country moving forward. You can’t hang a banner for being the 23rd ranked team in the sport, and you darn sure can’t preach success to your donors and fans.
We all knew this was coming at some point. And, there is no guarantees that it will stop with 24 teams.
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Do you honestly think that the same group of people who just agreed to a massive television contract with ESPN are not already thinking about expanding the playoff to 32 teams in 2032 or 36 teams in 2037?
Universities across the country got what they wanted at the expense of college football logic, with the almighty dollar winning at the end of the day.
