The playoffs in the current football era seem like a modern construction by coaches and teams. But they aren’t, as it enabled us to determine the true champion in football. The decision wasn’t easy, but it came after decades of debate and discussion on the issue. And guess what? It’s still fluid and changing, with tweaks expected to come in the future as the college football world changes with NIL and the House vs. NCAA settlement. One of these changes, as shared by Pat McAfee, has landed today and will have greater ramifications for teams in 2025.

Think of the 1977 Bowl season when Notre Dame won against No. 1-ranked Texas in a massive upset. Notre Dame, in that year, came after losing against No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 4 Michigan and still surpassed Alabama in polls, which were ranked 3rd. So, when the Irish finally won against Texas and were declared champions, not everyone was keen on declaring them champions, which led to a disputed championship. College football playoff ideas thus germinated in the ’70s and finally took shape in the playoffs we see today. The idea is simple.

Last season, the 4 top-ranked conference champions straight up earned the bye, and the rest were seeded to face off in the first elimination rounds in the 12-team playoff. This year, though, the playoffs will continue with 12 teams, but the bye system is ending, and teams will be seeded according to their respective rankings given by the selection committee. Pat McAfee shared the news on his X account.

“The 12-team college football playoff will now be a straight seeding model this fall, rewarding the selection committee’s top four teams with the top four seeds in a first-round bye, multiple sources have told ESPN. 10 FBS commissioners and Pete Bevacqua, who is the Notre Dame Athletic Director, comprised the CFP’s management committee. They reached a unanimous agreement this afternoon.” McAfee shared the news on his X account.

The four-team playoff format has had its critics, ranging from 2014 Baylor’s exclusion to 2023 FSU’s snub. The 12-team structure also has its share of criticism, and power conferences like the SEC and the Big 10 are demanding more automatic bids. While that idea is still in the pipeline, Pat McAfee’s breaking revelation puts some progress toward the playoffs expansion. Still, the expanded playoff is no far-fetched dream now, and we could see it happening sooner rather than later. But why was this recent decision taken in the first place?

Heather Dinich, appearing on Pat McAfee’s show, reported the actual reason behind the decision. “Sources told me that, if you’re one of the four highest-ranked conference champions, even though you’re not going to get one of those top four seeds or first-round byes necessarily, you’re still going to get the $8 million that Boise State and Arizona State got. Four million for getting into the playoffs and then 4 million for advancing to the next round, for a total of eight million. So, to be able to keep them financially whole was part of this deal.” What does this do then?

As part of the 12-team playoff, the teams would be getting $4 million each for the first round and then $4 million each if they made it to the second round. Moreover, teams that made it past the quarterfinals got $6 million each for every game they played. This was part of the revenue distribution formula that was adopted by the CFP committee. Now, the championship teams will not necessarily get the $4 million that Boise State or ASU got since they earned a bye. Still, the top 4 teams would be getting that $8 million amount, nevertheless. This brings us to another question as to how it will affect teams like ASU and Boise State.

Trouble for two teams with the latest verdict?

Both Boise State and ASU had stellar teams last season. Boise State had Ashton Jeanty, the Heisman finalist, and ASU had Sam Leavitt and Cam Skattebo, their hero. And the teams put on incredible performances, too. Still, if the rankings were made through a straight seeding formula, both teams wouldn’t have earned that bye round and might have been eliminated in the first round itself. Brett McMurphy thus shared a similarly grim scenario for the two teams.

“This will be the final year of the 12-team playoff w/2026 playoff expanding to 14 or 16 teams, sources said. If straight seeding was in place last year, the biggest differences: Texas & Penn State would have received 1st-round byes; Boise State drops from No. 3 to No. 9 seed; Arizona State from No. 4 to No. 11.” McMurhphy shared the story on X.

What this essentially means is that conference champions of the ACC or the Big 12 will have to be on their toes in each game to advance from the first round. And for a group of 5 teams like Boise State? It will become even tougher to replicate the heroics every season without the promise of a bye game and that extra $4 million paycheck they would get without even playing. So, Pat McAfee’s recent bombshell has truly landed some teams in a massive pickle.