24-team CFP format: ‘Good probability’ of a huge 2027 debut
What would a 24-team College Football Playoff actually look like? After Wednesday’s CFP management committee meeting in Rosemont, Illinois, the clearest answer yet is a bracket that starts in mid-December, plays its first two rounds on campuses and replaces conference championship weekend, CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello reported. Whether that 24-team CFP format arrives in 2027 is still an open question.
“I think there’s a good probability that we could be ready to do it next season,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said. He also cautioned: “I would say that there’s still a lot of things that we have to work through, and I would not call it a foregone conclusion at this point.”
The 24-team CFP format, round by round
The leading 24-team CFP format, as CBS Sports described it:
- Field: The top 23 teams in the CFP Selection Committee’s final rankings, plus the highest-ranked Group of Five team
- Byes: Eight teams skip the first round
- First round: Eight games on campus sites
- Second round: Eight more games, also on campuses
- Start date: The second week of December, two weeks after the regular season ends
- Casualty: Conference championship games
That last line is the biggest hurdle for any 24-team CFP format. Conference title games are worth roughly $250 million combined, and the SEC Championship Game alone is valued at about $100 million, according to Yahoo Sports. CBS Sports reported that conference leaders want more than $200 million in new revenue to make up the difference.
Two deadlines decide when a 24-team CFP format could start
The first is Oct. 9, when the CFP’s exclusive negotiating window with ESPN closes. ESPN holds the playoff’s rights through 2032, and if no deal is reached, the expanded package could go to the open market, where Yahoo Sports listed Fox as a possible bidder.
“The revenue is an unknown. That’s why we’re in this negotiating window,” Clark said, as quoted by Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report.
The second is Dec. 1, the deadline for any format change that would apply to the 2027 season. That leaves about two months after the ESPN window closes to settle the calendar. CBS Sports noted that logistics could push a debut to 2028. The committee’s next scheduled meeting is Jan. 24, 2027.
Army-Navy and the 10-game rule
A mid-December start under the 24-team CFP format collides with the Army-Navy game, which is traditionally played on the second Saturday of December. Early talks have focused on moving it up a week, though nothing is final, CBS Sports reported. Bleacher Report quoted Clark saying there are still things to sort out, including the Army-Navy game and bowls.
The SEC also wants every power conference to require 10 games against power-conference opponents or Notre Dame for playoff eligibility, a standard that stems from commissioner Greg Sankey’s August memo. The Big Ten was expected to adopt it, but it was not finalized Wednesday.
Who makes the call
The management committee includes the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, but the Big Ten and SEC effectively control the format. The Big Ten has pushed for 24 teams for more than a year, while the SEC, which once preferred 16, has warmed to the idea in recent months, per CBS Sports.
For the negotiating timeline, read our earlier report on the CFP’s critical Oct. 9 deadline. For the case against a bigger bracket, see our column calling 24-team expansion a money grab, and follow more in our college football coverage.