The College Football Playoff and ESPN have reached an informal agreement to televise an expanded 24-team postseason tournament, sports media outlets reported Saturday, a shift that would overhaul the traditional college football calendar.
ESPN reporter Heather Dinich initially reported the handshake deal on social media, noting that while an agreement has been reached, formal documentation remains incomplete and requires board approval from all involved parties. The College Football Playoff committee had announced on Thursday that productive discussions with the network were ongoing.
Contract details and tournament format
Under the proposed agreement, ESPN would pay an extra $345 million per year across the next five years, ESPN reporter Pete Thamel reported. That fee comes on top of the approximate $1.3 billion annual figure the network already pays for CFP broadcast rights under the existing 12-team system, ClutchPoints reported.
Reports varied slightly on the timing terminology, with USA TODAY Sports describing the launch as taking effect next season, while other reports cited 2027. Under the proposed 24-team format, the field would feature:
- Four conference champions from the Power 4 leagues;
- The highest-ranked champion representing the Group of 6 conferences;
- Nineteen at-large selections determined by the selection committee.
Teams seeded one through eight would receive first-round byes and host second-round games on their home campuses, according to a report by Fox News. USA TODAY Sports reported that the format would also eliminate Power 4 conference championship games and shift the start of the regular season earlier to “Week 0,” wrapping up regular-season play around Thanksgiving weekend while keeping the national title game in January.
Sharp reaction from television commentators
Despite the network securing the rights, several prominent ESPN analysts openly questioned the wisdom of expanding the tournament during broadcasts on Saturday.
Appearing on ESPN’s “College GameDay” at Brigham Young University, former Alabama coach Nick Saban voiced deep concern about player safety and physical demands. Saban noted that student-athletes could end up playing as many as 17 games in a single season under the expanded bracket. Saban also stated on the broadcast that “there’s not 24 teams in the country that deserve to be in the playoffs” and cautioned that traditional bowl games could become relics of the past, as reported by Fox News and Cincinnati.com.
Fellow analyst Kirk Herbstreit argued that opening the field so widely could undermine the urgency of marquee regular-season matchups. Herbstreit stated on the broadcast that he worried about losing the high-stakes atmosphere where a single loss could derail national championship hopes.
Former Michigan receiver and analyst Desmond Howard suggested the longer calendar brings college sports closer to an NFL schedule, which he argued could inevitably push student-athletes toward unionization. On SEC Network, analyst Tim Tebow echoed concerns about the regular season, saying the change dilutes the premium previously placed on weekly consistency.
Formal approval by the CFP Board of Managers and participating conferences is still required before the expanded format and media deal are officially finalized.
