College Football Playoff, ESPN agree to 5-year, $1.7 billion deal expanding field to 24 teams starting in 2027

ESPN and the College Football Playoff (CFP) have agreed to a 5-year deal to expand the playoff from 12 to 24 teams.

The deal, worth $1.7 billion per ESPN's Heather Dinich , keeps ESPN as the broadcast partner.

"The decision to expand was driven by a desire to increase opportunities for FBS programs, student-athletes and fan bases to participate in the Playoff and have a chance to play for the CFP National Championship, while new scheduling standards incentivize institutions to schedule more compelling non-conference matchups during the regular season. The expanded format will feature 16 on-campus Playoff games, which will bring Playoff football to more students and local fans while providing a positive impact for campus communities."

CFP executive director Rich Clark also commented about the expansion and the hopes for what it means for the sport and fans.

"We will make the 24-team Playoff spectacular for the fans, student-athletes, their institutions and all our stakeholders. That is our commitment. Our organization delivers a world-class championship experience at our games and our events, and this promise will continue under the new format. 23 games of Playoff football, featuring 24 ranked teams going head-to-head for the right to be crowned the true national champion. We are also thrilled to continue our broadcast partnership with ESPN, which has been a terrific partner of the CFP since its inception. Like the CFP, ESPN celebrates everything that makes the sport of college football so great. The promotion, storytelling and innovation ESPN brings to the CFP, college football fans and the sport in general, is second to none. We know that level of excellence will continue as we embark on this journey to a 24-team format. We'd like to thank our media advisors at CAA for their work and support getting this agreement completed. This would not have been possible without their guidance and expertise."

"We will make the 24-team Playoff spectacular for the fans, student-athletes, their institutions and all our stakeholders. That is our commitment. Our organization delivers a world-class championship experience at our games and our events, and this promise will continue under the new format. 23 games of Playoff football, featuring 24 ranked teams going head-to-head for the right to be crowned the true national champion.

We are also thrilled to continue our broadcast partnership with ESPN, which has been a terrific partner of the CFP since its inception. Like the CFP, ESPN celebrates everything that makes the sport of college football so great. The promotion, storytelling and innovation ESPN brings to the CFP, college football fans and the sport in general, is second to none. We know that level of excellence will continue as we embark on this journey to a 24-team format. We'd like to thank our media advisors at CAA for their work and support getting this agreement completed. This would not have been possible without their guidance and expertise."

Talk of the CFP expanding to 24 teams gained steam in September, when the CFP and ESPN began negotiating after the College Football Playoff triggered a 30-day negotiating window .

The CFP released a statement in early October confirming that talks with ESPN were ongoing.

"Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week. We have enjoyed a strong partnership with ESPN since our inception and are appreciative of the productive dialogue we have had throughout the negotiating period and continuing over the last several days. We will provide additional updates on the matters of future format and media rights when appropriate."

A Dec. 1 deadline loomed to close a deal in time to affect the 2027 CFP format. This is only the third year of a 12-team format following 10 years of the 4-team playoff format that ended in 2023.

The report also added that this expansion to 24 teams eliminates Power 4 conference championship games, but it didn't expand on that aspect.

Dinich also mentioned some key dates for the 2027 season. "Week 0" will no longer happen, and the season will begin with Week 1 the week before Labor Day and will end the weekend of Thanksgiving.

Selection Day for the 2027 CFP will be on Nov. 28, 2027, and the national championship game will still be held on Jan. 24, 2028. The Army-Navy game will still occur and keep its standalone window, but will now be held the weekend that Power 4 conference championships were held.

The 24-team field is expected to include 19 at-large teams and the Power 4 champions. If there are no conference championship games, though, each league will have to decide how to crown its champion. Currently, that is expected to be through a combination of regular-season standings and tiebreakers.

The final team will still be the highest-ranked team in the Group of 6. On3's Brett McMurphy reported that the Group of 6 hasn't decided whether to eliminate its conference championship games.

Currently, Notre Dame gets an auto-bid if it finishes in the CFP's top-12, but this expansion would eliminate any guarantee for the Fighting Irish.

The CFP currently ranks 25 teams each week, and that is expected to continue, but could expand to a 30-team ranking to show which teams are in the hunt down the stretch of the season.

The 24-team format would see the top eight seeds receive a bye. The first two rounds of the playoff tournament would take place at the campus of the higher seed. The quarterfinals and semifinals will still be contested via the New Year's Six Bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Cotton and Orange) leading up to the national championship.