- ESPN preparing new broadcast deal
- A 12-team tournament is almost confirmed from 2026
- Big Ten and SEC secure greater control over format
All nine conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the independent University of Notre Dame have agreed to the next College Football Playoff (CFP) contract ahead of a $7.8 billion national broadcast deal with ESPN.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) also stipulates that the 12-team system will be expanded from 2026, and that a 14-team system will be introduced in the future.
The field consists of the top five ranked schools in the conference and the next top nine schools in the conference.
It would actually include the winners of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten, Southeastern Conference (SEC), Big 12, and the highest ranking “Group of 5” champions. .
The five groups consist of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (CUSA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and Sun Belt Conference (SBC).
The Pac-12, considered a Big 5 conference before it effectively imploded, has a scheduling agreement with the MWC for the 2024 season, but considering there are only two teams left and six fewer left. And you won't be able to submit the champion. Minimum number to consider. However, both Oregon State and Washington State can qualify for the postseason through other means.
Notre Dame, which is not participating in any conference and has its own broadcast deal with NBC, is also said to be granted some protections.
The Big Ten and SEC will have the majority of control over the new format. Other FBS conferences and Notre Dame commissioners agreed to such deals in exchange for a series of concessions that would protect their positions within the new system.
According to ESPN, the group of five in particular feared being removed from the CFP unless they agreed to a trade-off that would ensure that the final agreement was subject to certain non-negotiable conditions.
The most significant changes are likely to be related to finances, with Big Ten and SEC schools receiving $21 million, ACC teams $13 million and Big 12 programs $12 million. The group of five schools will receive US$1.8 million. Washington State and Oregon State, which used to earn up to $7 million as members of the Pac-12, will receive just $360,000 in the new agreement, making them the only two schools to see a decrease in revenue.
Once the deal is finalized, the CFP is expected to approve a new television contract with ESPN worth US$1.3 billion annually, more than double the value of its existing contract of US$608 million.
The Disney-owned station has aired the CFP semifinals and finals since the first edition of the revamped postseason in 2014. The late-tournament contract was scheduled to expire in 2026.
If the deal is approved, ESPN will host virtually all NCAA college sports championships, except for the men's March Madness college basketball tournament, which will be broadcast by CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
