The College Football Playoff and ESPN have reached a significant new agreement that expands the postseason field to 24 teams beginning with the 2027 season. This five year contract is valued at nearly 1.7 billion dollars, according to sources close to the negotiations. The deal secures ESPN as the exclusive broadcast partner for the event while implementing structural changes that eliminate the traditional Power 4 conference championship games.
Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, emphasized the network's long term commitment to the sport in a statement. He noted that the two organizations have collaborated for over a decade to establish the playoff as a premier sporting event. Pitaro expressed gratitude for the trust placed in ESPN as the sole media partner and highlighted that this expanded format solidifies the network's position as the central destination for college sports coverage.
The new format alters the regular season schedule, which will now begin in a period dubbed Week Zero, the week preceding Labor Day. The season will conclude on Thanksgiving weekend. The national championship game is scheduled for January 24, 2028, in New Orleans. The 24 team field will consist of 19 at large bids, the champions from the four major power conferences, and the highest ranked team from the Group of 6. Unlike previous proposals, there is no longer a guaranteed spot for Notre Dame unless the team ranks high enough to secure an at large bid.
Mark Keenum, chair of the CFP Board of Managers, stated that opening the playoff to more programs and fan bases benefits the sport. The selection committee will continue to rank the top 25 teams but may expand this list to 30 to clarify which teams are on the bubble. The top eight teams in the rankings will receive first round byes, with the initial rounds played at the campus of the higher seed. The playoff itself will kick off in the second weekend of December 2027.
The New Year's Six bowls, including the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Orange, and Cotton Bowls, will host the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, a key advocate for the 24 team model, addressed concerns that the change might devalue the regular season. He pointed to tiered incentives, noting that the top two seeds receive the most favorable paths through the bracket, while teams seeded 9 through 16 earn the right to host a first round home game.
The annual Army Navy game will be moved to a standalone window on December 4, replacing the traditional conference championship weekend. Sources indicate that the Heisman Trophy ceremony is expected to take place later that same evening. If either Army or Navy qualifies for the 24 team field and loses to each other, the result will not impact their standing in the playoff. The Power 4 conferences are expected to determine their champions through regular season standings and existing tiebreaking procedures.
This shift follows the previous expansion from four to 12 teams, which occurred just two seasons ago. In March 2024, ESPN and the CFP signed a six year contract worth 7.8 billion dollars to maintain exclusive media rights through the 2031 32 season. Following a 30 day negotiation window that closed in October, the new agreement allows ESPN to sublicense six of the 12 new games to approved partners for exclusive distribution.
Financial details reveal that ESPN will pay an average additional 345 million dollars annually for the expanded playoff over the next five years. This amount is separate from the 1.3 billion dollars the network already pays annually. However, ESPN effectively pays only 205 million of that additional sum because it recovers 140 million dollars annually from the cancellation of SEC, Big 12, and ACC championship games for which it holds broadcasting rights. Fox is expected to recover approximately 50 million dollars annually due to the cancellation of the Big Ten title game.
