College Football Playoff grows to 24 teams, ESPN signs $1.7B deal
Under a five-year agreement, ESPN keeps broadcast rights, and the playoff field will expand starting with the 2027 season.
By Standard Topic. AI-generated from the reporting listed under Coverage. Published . Updated .
What happened
The College Football Playoff and ESPN agreed to a five-year deal worth nearly $1.7 billion. The playoff will expand to 24 teams beginning in 2027, and its committee approved the new format. The change will eliminate conference championship games.
Why it matters
The move will eliminate conference championship games. Rich Clark, the playoff's executive director, acknowledged that fans overwhelmingly oppose the change.
Timeline
- Nov 9, 11:03 AM ET: The College Football Playoff and ESPN agree to a five-year deal worth nearly $1.7 billion, expanding the playoff to 24 teams in 2027.
- Nov 9, 6:37 PM ET: The College Football Playoff committee approves the 24-team playoff, with the new format beginning next year.
- Nov 9, 9:29 PM ET: Executive Director Rich Clark acknowledges that fans overwhelmingly oppose the change to 24 teams.
Coverage
- Winners and Losers of the Expanded 24-Team College Football Playoff (si.com)
- Noah Hiles: An expanded College Football Playoff means more opportunity — and pressure (post-gazette.com)
- The Ripple Effects of a 24-Team College Football Playoff (Kennington Smith III)
- Paul Finebaum does an about-face on 24-team College Football Playoff: ‘It’s a great thing’ (Yahoo Sports)
- What the expanded College Football Playoff means for Group of 6 conferences like the MW (nevadasportsnet.com)
- Conference title games taking direct hit with CFP expansion (sportsbusinessjournal.com)
- A Grip on Sports: When it comes to making unwanted changes, college football might be the all-time winner (spokesman.com)
- Why College Football Playoff expansion is an unnecessary risk: Will fan fatigue set in? (The New York Times)
- OS Debates: Does The 24-Team College Football Playoff Benefit Penn State Football Enough To Sacrifice Tradition? (onwardstate.com)
- The Biggest Penn State-Related Winners & Losers Of The 24-Team College Football Playoff (onwardstate.com)
- Column | The 24-team College Football Playoff is unnecessary. But they don’t care about fans' opinion (psucollegian.com)
- What would a 24-team CFP bracket look like? (ESPN)
- OPINION: The 24-team college football format is a money-hungry move, and schools in the Group of Six get the short end of the stick (upressonline.com)
- College Football Playoff officially expanding to 24 teams in 2027, eliminating SEC Championship Game (Yahoo Sports)
- College Football Playoff committee executive admits they don't care fans are against 24-team playoff (Fox News)
- Washington Huskies Head Coach Jedd Fisch Discusses Expansion of College Football Playoff (Yahoo Sports)
- College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams, ending SEC Championship Game (wvtm13.com)
- College Football Playoff committee approves 24-team playoff (wvlt.tv)
- College Football Playoff expansion to 24 teams is one bad idea (Houston Chronicle)
- VIDEO REPORT: 24-team College Football Playoff equals sweet success for Sugar Bowl (AP)
- ACC: 2026 Football Championship Game will be the last after College Football Playoff expansion (WRAL)
- College Football Playoff decides to double down and a 24-team playoff is set for 2027 (katu.com)
- Alexander: As expected, inflation hits the College Football Playoff (ocregister.com)
- How the new 24-team College Football Playoff will work (Houston Chronicle)
- College football playoff restructure ends Big Ten championship game (woodtv.com)
- College Football Playoff expansion forces Indiana, USC and others to overhaul 2027 schedules (cbssports.com)
- What a 24-team College Football Playoff would look like in 2026 after Week 10 (Yahoo Sports)
- CFP 24-team format: What you need to know about the new playoff (espn.com)
- Greed wins again. College Football Playoff expands to 24, hurting UofL, ACC (C.L. Brown)
- ESPN exclusive rights holder of expanded CFP through 2031 season (espn.com)
- College Football Playoff Expands Next Year (kvoe.com)
- 24-Team Playoff In College Football Starting In 2027-2028 (cornnation.com)
- ESPN reaches agreement to expand College Football Playoff to 24 teams (deseret.com)
- SEC announces 2026 championship game will be its last as College Football Playoff expands (news9.com)
- SEC Championship Game to end as College Football Playoff expands to 24 teams (ABC 33/40)
- ACC, SEC will eliminate football title games as part of new 24-team playoff (courier-journal.com)
- The College Football Playoff Will Expand to 24 Teams in 2027; ESPN Secures Rights to 12 Additional Games (sportsvideo.org)
- The College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams. Football Saturdays will never be the same (CNN)
- College Football Playoff doubles up, expands to 24 teams beginning next season (scrippsnews.com)
- College Football Playoff is doubling to 24 teams next season, ending conference title games (chicagotribune.com)
- ESPN Snares Rights to Expanded College Football Playoff (variety.com)
- College Football Playoff to expand to 24 teams (andthevalleyshook.com)
- How is Alabama football affected by College Football Playoff expansion to 24 teams? (tuscaloosanews.com)
- Deal reached to expand College Football Playoff to 24 teams in 2027 (insidethehall.com)
- College Football Playoff’s new 24-team format ruins bowl season forever (Yahoo Sports)
- College Football Playoff, ESPN reach $1.7B deal, will expand to 24 teams: reports (wpxi.com)
- NCAA expanding College Football Playoff to 24 teams (Yahoo Sports)
- NCAA announces move to 24-team College Football Playoff. (dailyemerald.com)
- College Football Playoff To Expand to 24 Teams Beginning in 2027 Season (frontofficesports.com)
- Sources: ESPN, College Football Playoff reach deal to expand field to 24 teams (wbrc.com)
- College Football Playoff, ESPN reportedly agree to 5-year, $1.7 billion deal expanding field to 24 teams starting in 2027 (Yahoo Sports)
- College Football Playoff and ESPN Agree on 24-Team Expansion: All Details Explained (Unknown)
- Sources: CFP, ESPN ink 5-year, $1.7B deal to expand field to 24 teams (espn.com)
- Report: College Football Playoff Expanding To 24 Teams In 2027 (onwardstate.com)
- College Football Playoff officially expanding to 24 teams for 2027 season (cbssports.com)
- College Football Playoff finalizes media rights deal with ESPN, clears path for expansion to 24 teams (on3.com)
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