SEC commissioner, Greg Sankey, is one of the main advocates for a 16-team CFP expansion. However, that stance has pit the SEC against the Big Ten, who would rather increase it to 24 teams. Explaining the reasons behind their choice, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has warned of a huge revenue hit if a 16-team model is settled for.

“I just don’t think it works economically,” Petitti said in a meeting with reporters on Tuesday at the Big Ten spring meetings. “I don’t think it works scheduling wise as well. I think it doesn’t create enough new inventory. And then the last piece, I don’t think it gets enough access.”

The expansion to either 16 or 24 threatens the conference championship games. As a result, Petitti argued that a 16-team expansion format would not feature enough games to make up for the loss of the championship game revenues. He also cited the data for the loss of championship games being $200 million, claiming that if the championship games are to be replaced, then the model replacing them must be able to compensate for the lost revenue.

The clear advantage the 24-team format has is more access, which opens more financial opportunities at a time where NIL deals are demanding more financial investments from teams. More participants means more games; and more games mean more money. The 24-team format would feature 23 games — 12 more games than the current model.

As for the scheduling, Petitti claimed the only feasible structure for 16 teams is having all teams play the first round with no byes. In another case, the top two teams could earn first-round byes, “and No. 16 would face No. 13, No. 15 vs. 14, etc.”

The reality at the moment is that both the Big Ten and the SEC must reach a consensus if the current 12-team playoff model is to be expanded. This means one of the two conferences would have to do the other’s bidding.

With the SEC, some coaches and athletic directors have expressed their support for a 24-team model; however, the main voices in Greg Sankey and the league’s presidents remain bent on 16 teams. The conference’s spring meetings is next week in Destin, Florida.

Petitti’s stance is not just for financial gains

The responses to Petitti’s claims made it seem like his stance is a financially motivated one. Fans would normally love to have their voices heard in such situations. Hence, no room for fans’ opinion often implies ulterior motives. However, Petitti gave more reasons as to why the 24-team format just seems better.

“I don’t see any scheduling reason why it couldn’t happen,” Petitti said. “I think we can undo our championship game, do those things, I feel like we could, I think it would be the media partner, and would they be ready to do it?”

“When I was at [Major League] baseball, we never had to convince anybody that keeping more teams in the race is better for everybody and the fans, like we never had to do that,” he said. “I feel like in this space, like we’re kind of being asked to do that. It’s almost counterintuitive. I think that more teams alive as late as possible is a fundamental way that I thought about it when we’re changing the playoff schedule.”

It is not just the MLB that understands the need for expansion, even if it truly comes with some financial gain. The FIFA World Cup that would be hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico next month, was recently expanded from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 teams in 2026. Rather than see it as a CFB-related thing, it seems like a trend that now cuts across several sports.