Rumors on College Football Playoff Expansion, Seedings, Timeline for Potential Changes

With the Jan. 23 deadline looming for the College Football Playoff management committee to finalize a format for the future, new details about the options being considered have come out.

Per The Athletic's Ralph D. Russo, the three primary options being discussed by the committee include keeping the current 12-team format, expand to 16 teams in 2026 or expand to 24 teams no sooner than 2027.

A key date in the negotiations appears to be Jan. 18, which Russo noted is when "a pivotal in-person gathering of CFP officials" will take place.

The 16-team field has been a popular solution, though the exact format it will take remains to be seen. Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported in February that leaders from the SEC and Big Ten to get up to four automatic bids each for their respective conferences.

Russo did note agreement from the SEC and Big Ten is "essential" for any potential changes given how much financial influence they have over the sport. More recently, the SEC appears to have changed its stance on automatic bids.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in November he is "not a fan of automatic qualifiers" because "we don't have a G5 representative in the top 25. That's problematic and that's an indicator of why you just don't jump on the AQ bandwagon."

Expanding to 16 teams next season would maintain most elements of the 12-team format, while adding four at-large bids.

According to Russo, the 24-team format would take time to implement because it would eliminate conference championship games, thus requiring conferences to rework their television deals that include them in the contract.

Dellenger reported on Nov. 24 that the Big Ten presented its idea for a 24-team playoff format to the other power conference commissioners. The format would grant four automatic bids to each of the Power Four conferences, two to the highest-ranked non-Power Four conference champions and six at-large bids.

Per Russo, the SEC is not on board with the 24-team plan.

If the field stays at 12 teams in 2026, the selection process will be different because Notre Dame signed a memorandum that will guarantee it a berth in the College Football Playoff if it is in the top 12 of the final rankings.

The Fighting Irish missed the field this year despite being ranked 11th overall. James Madison and Tulane made the playoff because they were two of the five highest-ranked conference champions, while Notre Dame was the first team out in the eighth at-large spot.