College Football Playoff expanding again, but the money behind it is not what some would call a ‘win’
Expansion of the College Football Playoff only needs a few approval signatures and final votes before we can officially start discussing what the sport will look like moving forward now that monetary figures are being finalized.
Over the past month, college football commissioners have been dissecting what the financial terms would look like once ESPN presented its final offer for the next iteration of the postseason tournament to crown a national champion.
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According to sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations, ESPN and the CFP have informally agreed to a contract that would see the network pay an additional $345 million annually for the rights to eleven more football games that would take place with the 24-team playoff.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF EXPANSION IS NOTHING MORE THAN A DESPERATE FINANCIAL BAILOUT DISGUISED AS PROGRESS
The CFP logo is displayed on the field prior to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Miami Hurricanes at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8, 2026. (Getty Images)
ESPN was first to report the financial details of its offer to the CFP, which would eliminate conference championship games after this season.
Over the next five years, with the loss of conference championship games, the network would pay for those leagues to get out of marketing agreements, along with the revenue generated from those same conference title weekends.
ESPN will have to pay FOX upwards of $60 million annually for the Big Ten to exit its agreement with the network, sources added.
THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF IS SACRIFICING ITS SOUL TO BE AN ATM FOR CONFERENCES WITH EXPANSION TO 24 TEAMS
A lot can change in just three years for college football
Just three years ago, CFP committee members agreed to increase the amount of teams from four to twelve, in what many around the sport thought was a pretty decent tradeoff if the postseason was going to expand.
At that time, the thought of a 24-team playoff would have been laughed at, and was behind closed doors across college campuses.
But, thanks to the increased spending across college sports related to revenue-sharing and NIL budgets, along with a plethora of power-four schools operating at a deficit, there was chatter that sometime in the near future that number would only rise again.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti meet with reporters during a joint press conference in Nashville, Tennessee (Trey Wallace/FOX NEWS)
Look no further than the NCAA Tournament, which recently expanded from 68 to 76 teams, as an example of college athletics looking to add more schools to an already crowded field.
Now, after over a year of back-and-forth negotiating by conferences on what the right amount of teams should be if the CFP were to have expanded, that number increases by twelve. If you remember back to last year’s conversation, the thought was that if college football was going to add more teams, that number could have just reached sixteen, thanks to a hard push by the SEC.
GREG SANKEY MAKES IT CLEAR THAT SEC DIDN’T START THE 16-TEAM CFP FORMAT DISCUSSION, THAT’S ON THE BIG TEN
At the same time, it was the Big Ten conference that held steady in its convictions that having a 24-team field would be the right move, giving more schools an opportunity to fight for the championship.
More teams will make the college football postseason better, right?
In reality, the additional twelve teams added a a justification mechanism to the postseason, given how many schools are spending over $30 million per year just to piece together a roster good enough to contend for a playoff spot.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark gestures before the Big 12 Championship game between Texas Tech and BYU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 6, 2025. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
So, with a push from Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, other conferences, including the ACC and Big 12, embraced the idea that a 24-team postseason would give their teams more opportunities to play meaningful football in December while creating a simpler path to the playoff.
On Friday, that thought process took another gigantic step, as those in charge of putting a product on television have all but signed the official paperwork to once again expand the college football playoff.
