New Rumors on College Football Playoff Expansion as Execs Eye TV Revenue Offer for 24-Team Bracket

The possibility of the College Football Playoff format expanding to 24 teams reportedly increased on Tuesday.

According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, CFP leaders agreed to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN that signals their "greatest interest yet" in a 24-team playoff field that could be implemented "as soon as 2027."

"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 CFP said in a statement released Tuesday. "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."

Per Dinich, the open window will help determine if a 24-team format can generate enough revenue to make up for the elimination of conference championship games, as the Power 4 conference championship clashes hold media value of at least $200 million.

ESPN now has 30 days to make an offer, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. CFP executives also have the option to move to the open market, although the move must come with a revenue increase of at least $250 million in order to compensate for the removal of the four conference championship games.

The 10 Football Bowl Subdivision commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director met on Monday to discuss the trade-offs of varying CFP formats, per Chris Vannini of The Athletic.

Vannini noted that topics affected by a potential 24-team field such as the calendar, television broadcast windows for CFP games, the future of Army-Navy in a changed December schedule, the impact of expansion on the regular season, conference championships and health and safety were all expected to be discussed during the meeting.

The Big Ten was reportedly circulating an internal document that detailed a 24-team CFP model on Feb. 13, although the SEC was interested in expanding to 16 teams instead.

Still, the American Football Coaches Association voted in favor of recommending a 24-team format on May 5.

If an expansion to 24 teams was adopted, conference championship games would likely need to be removed in order to schedule the added playoff games.

The Big Ten and SEC have until Dec. 1 to decide on changing the playoff model from the current 12-team field if a new format is to be implemented for the 2027 season.