ESPN’s Exclusive CFP Window Closes Next Week As 24-Team Playoff Looms

College football leaders are one week away from the end of a negotiating window that could determine the future of the College Football Playoff, with potential changes coming into effect as early as the 2027 season. 

Last month, the CFP issued a statement announcing it’s officially considering expansion to 24 teams, while launching a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN. 

“The CFP has decided to move forward in its evaluation of potential Playoff expansion to 24 teams by beginning a media rights discussion with ESPN,” the statement read. “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.”

The 30-day negotiating window, which ends on Oct. 9, is exclusively with ESPN, which is the event’s exclusive rights holder through the 2031-32 season. Once the window closes, the CFP can field offers on the expanded format from other television networks including CBS, FOX, NBC, and/or streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video. There’s also a possibility that the CFP could be split amongst multiple networks, or return exclusively to ESPN. 

The official vote consists of a multi-level voting structure consisting of a board of managers: a committee of university presidents representing the conferences and Notre Dame, and a managing committee that consists of conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. The coaches, represented by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), can make suggestions but do not have a formal vote. 

Outside of television rights, there’s a separate conversation about the implications of an expanded Playoff on the college football landscape. It would likely signal the end of conference championship games at the Power 4 level, which could equal losses surpassing $200 million, if not replaced by something equitable like more playoff games. As recently as the spring, coaches in the SEC were split on the idea of removing the championship game including Georgia coach Kirby Smart. 

“I’m really more worried about the financial burden that we’re under right now of paying for all of the athletic department,” Smart said at SEC spring meetings in May. “And when you take that revenue stream [from the SEC championship game] out, can we make it work, and is it sustainable to do without it would be my biggest concern.”

There were previous talks of expanding from 12 to 16 teams, but the idea of a 24-team playoff is quickly gaining momentum. The formal deadline for whether the CFP will expand to 24 teams for the 2027 season is on Dec. 1; if an agreement is not reached, then the CFP will remain at 12 teams next season. 

“I sure feel like it’s headed towards 24 [teams],” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne told Front Office Sports last month. “I do think that we have to be very sensitive to making sure the regular season continues to have the value that it does.” 

Uniformity is another key talking point in reaching an agreement. Prior to the 2026 season, the ACC and SEC only played eight conference games, while the Big Ten and Big 12 played nine. The two eight-game leagues agreed to expand to nine games beginning in 2026, with each SEC team playing nine games and the ACC adopting a hybrid format because it has 17 teams. This season, 12 teams are playing nine conference games, and five teams are playing eight. Starting in 2027, 16 teams will play nine conference games annually, while one rotating team will play eight conference games.

The ACC is requiring each member school to play 10 Power 4 games (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, or a major independent like Notre Dame) in addition to the league rule. The Big 12, and SEC require teams to do the same, while the Big Ten does not. Notre Dame, an independent but a powerhouse program with a guarantee to make the playoffs as long as it’s ranked inside the top 12 (in its current format) is also not formally required to play 10 Power 4 games. Addressing that matter has also been a priority. 

“One of the things I’m really happy about that [SEC commissioner] Greg Sankey has been leading the charge on is that if we expand to 24, everybody has to play 10 Power Four games during the season,” Byrne said. “It is ridiculous that some are playing that many and some aren’t, and the teams that are playing 10 should be heavily rewarded for doing so.” 

In February, the Big Ten began sharing a proposed 24-team playoff format amongst its peers. The proposal included ranking the 23 best teams, without automatic qualifiers, and one guaranteed spot for the Group of 6 conference schools. If that format applied to 2025, there would’ve been seven SEC teams, six Big Ten teams, five Big 12 teams, three ACC teams, two Group of 6 teams and Notre Dame. 

The top eight teams would receive automatic byes. The first- and second-round games would all take place on college campuses. The quarterfinals would fall on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at bowl sites, and the semifinals would be the following week. Then, the national championship games would be at a neutral site in mid-January. This season’s national championship game is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 25, 2027.

As of now, the negotiations remain in progress, as no formal votes have been taken. 

CFB Changes

The College Football Playoff debuted in 2014 with four teams. The field expanded to 12 teams after the 2023 season and has changed in each subsequent season. 

In 2024, the four highest-ranked conference champions received first-round byes. In 2025, the seeding protocol changed, and the 12 qualifying teams were ranked from highest to lowest. This year, the Power 4 conferences will each be guaranteed a spot for their conference champion, along with one spot for the highest-ranked team from the Group of 6 (formerly the Group of 5). Last season’s ACC Champion, Duke, was left out after a 7-5 regular season. 

Additionally, Notre Dame will be guaranteed a spot if it finishes ranked in the top 12, and the SEC and Big Ten will receive more than half of the revenue, and control over future playoff formats. Due to the two conferences having a combined 34 teams, and the most CFP representatives, their leverage greatly increased in negotiations. These new changes were agreed upon in a memorandum of understanding signed between the conferences and Notre Dame from 2024, and are now in effect.