ESPN, CFP Push Expansion Deadline Back Nearly Two Months

The deadline for the College Football Playoff to decide on expanding for next season has been pushed back from Dec. 1 to Jan. 23, a source with knowledge of the move tells Front Office Sports.

ESPN originally set the Dec. 1 deadline for the CFP to inform the network of any changes to the 2026–27 Playoff format. ESPN has held CFP media rights since its inaugural 2014 season, and next year will begin the first season of a six-year, $7.8 billion rights extension.

With Dec. 1 one week away and the SEC and Big Ten—the two conferences that contractually control CFP format changes—at odds over what expansion should look like, ESPN has approved a deadline extension, a source confirmed to FOS. The source called it a “one-time exception” at the request of the CFP.

CFP leaders now have until the Friday after the upcoming national championship game (Jan. 20) to agree on an expanded format. If there is no agreement on expansion, the CFP will remain at 12 teams for a third season. 

Last week, FOS reported that a deadline extension would be possible—if CFP asked ESPN to delay it.

Now, there are two months for SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti to continue negotiating over what a potential format of an expanded CFP bracket would be. Sankey and the SEC favor more at-large spots selected by the CFP committee, while Petitti and the Big Ten are seeking more automatic qualifiers.

In the short term, the next two weeks will be filled with conversations about this season’s 12-team CFP field, as debate over the selection committee’s seven at-large bids will be sure to dominate headlines before the bracket is revealed Dec. 7. The five automatic bids go to the five highest-ranked conference champions, though those teams will not receive automatic byes this year.

ESPN and the CFP did not comment for this story.