The College Football Playoff is doubling in size. The CFP and ESPN announced a five-year agreement on Monday that expands the field from 12 to 24 teams starting with the 2027 season, a change approved unanimously by the CFP management committee.
The deal is worth nearly $1.7 billion, according to ESPN, and keeps the network as the playoff's broadcast partner through the 2031-32 season.
Who gets in
The 24-team field will include the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, plus the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt. The remaining 19 places go to the highest-ranked teams left in the final CFP rankings.
Sixteen of the games will be played on campus, a format the CFP said would bring playoff football to more students and local fans and deliver revenue to campus communities. The top eight teams are expected to receive byes, though the bracket details are still being finalized.
The trade that made it work
Expansion required the power conferences to give something up. The new agreement eliminates the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC championship games, which had been valuable inventory for the conferences and, in the SEC's case, a fixture in Atlanta that generated substantial revenue.
The Big Ten and SEC are each expected to receive about 30% of the distributed money, reflecting their television value. ESPN's existing sublicense arrangement with TNT Sports, which carries first-round and quarterfinal games, remains in place under the new deal.
Why the playoff grew
The CFP said the decision was driven by a desire to give more FBS programs, athletes and fan bases a path to the national title, and that new scheduling standards will encourage schools to schedule stronger non-conference opponents.
Coaches and athletic directors have argued for years that a 12-team field still left too many deserving teams out, particularly from outside the power conferences. The 24-team model also creates more postseason games, which means more television inventory and more revenue for a sport whose costs keep climbing.
The first 24-team bracket will be selected in December 2027.