Report: College Football Playoff, ESPN Agree to 6-Year, $7.8B Contract Extension

ESPN will remain the home of the College Football Playoff for years to come.

The sports company and the College Football Playoff are in agreement on a six-year, $7.8 billion extension to keep the CFP on the network through 2031-32, according to The Athletic.

The Athletic added that the agreement is "contingent on CFP leaders finalizing details of the expanded format in the wake of the implosion of the Pac-12." Washington State and Oregon State are the only remaining teams in the Pac-12 entering the 2024 season.

USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are jumping to the Big Ten, and Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are joining the Big 12. Cal and Stanford are also headed to the ACC.

"The CFP's management committee and board of managers have meetings scheduled for next week and continue to work through the complicated process of settling their outstanding issues," The Athletic wrote. "The ESPN deal will not be ratified until the commissioners and presidents vote on the structure and financials of the expanded CFP."

ESPN has two years remaining on its current deal with the CFP worth an average of $608 million annually, according to The Athletic. The pact includes the CFP semifinals and championship and the other New Year's Six bowl games.

While the CFP is expanding to 12 teams next season, ESPN still owns the rights to all matchups, including the first round, quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games, according to The Athletic.

The new agreement will cost $1.3 billion annually, according to The Athletic. The quarterfinal CFP matchups will be played at current New Year's Six bowls, which ESPN already holds the rights to.

The new deal also gives ESPN a stranglehold on Division I college championships. The network holds the rights to nearly every DI championship aside from the men's basketball tournament. CBS, TNT and its sister networks own the rights to the men's basketball tournament through 2032.

ESPN could also sublicense games so that other networks or streaming platforms could air games, per The Athletic.