For years, college football fans and athletic directors have argued about whether expanding the postseason makes sense. Now, the conversation has shifted straight to the wallet. The CFP leadership took a massive step forward on Tuesday to find out what a 24-team field is actually worth.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“The CFP has decided to move forward in its evaluation of potential Playoff expansion to 24 teams by beginning media rights discussions with ESPN,” the CFP announced in a statement shared by Peegs.com’s Jeff Rabjohns. “This does not represent a decision or commitment to expand, but rather an opportunity to engage with ESPN and gather additional information to help determine a path forward. The CFP will provide additional updates when appropriate.”
This doesn’t mean the 24-team playoff is a done deal. But it’s clearly moved beyond talk between conference bosses. OutKick’s Clay Travis summed up the situation. The conversation has moved from “Should we do this?” to “Show us the money.”
ESPN is now in its 30-day window to make an offer. The CFP can accept it or reject it and move toward the open market. So now, the big question is how much the network is willing to pay before the CFP potentially takes the additional games elsewhere.
Moving on to finance, the expanded playoff would likely mean the disappearance of the four conference championship games. Those games have a media value of at least $200 million, according to an ESPN report, before even counting ticket sales, sponsorships, and other game-day revenue. So an expanded playoff has to be worth more.
“The move must come with an increase in revenue – at least $250M – to compensate for the cancellation of the four conference championship games,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported.
It sounds like the CFP is asking whether ESPN thinks 24-team playoff football is valuable enough to justify a major increase in spending. As of now, ESPN declined to comment. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement during the 30-day window, the CFP could shop the next 10 additional games to other networks or streamers, although ESPN would retain certain matching rights.
ESPN would still control the existing 11 games, including the quarterfinals, semifinals, and national championship, along with the first two newly added games. So ESPN isn’t being pushed out the door. But the bigger development may be happening behind the television negotiations.
Big Ten and SEC finally have something to build on
The Big Ten and SEC have spent months disagreeing over how the postseason should look. Now, they appear aligned enough to at least find out what a 24-team field could actually generate. The Big Ten first pushed the idea in February. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has said he is open to considering it, although he has stopped short of endorsing it.
Under the proposal being discussed, the field would feature the 23 best teams plus one Group of 6 team. There would be no automatic qualifiers. The top eight teams would get byes. The first round would feature eight games on campus, followed by eight second-round games at campus sites.
The postseason could begin as early as the second weekend in December. There is also a deadline hanging over all of this. The Big Ten and SEC need to agree on a format by Dec. 1 if they want changes in place for the following season, according to the memorandum of understanding governing the CFP.
When asked in May about a media partner for a potential 24-team playoff, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said his preference was essentially whoever is committed to making it work. Right now, the CFP isn’t ready to declare that 24 teams are coming. It is trying to determine whether the money, logistics, and competitive payoff make the jump worthwhile. And ESPN has 30 days to make its case. If the number isn’t big enough, the CFP may finally open the door to everybody else.