10/16/2026 06:55:00
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10/16 18:54 CDT 'Handshake agreement' with ESPN brings college football closer
to a 24-team playoff, AP source says
'Handshake agreement' with ESPN brings college football closer to a 24-team
playoff, AP source says
By EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
College football moved closer to a 24-team postseason after securing what a
person familiar with the negotiations called a "handshake agreement" between
the College Football Playoff and broadcast partner ESPN that would make up for
the nine-figure sums the major conferences would lose by getting rid of their
title games.
The person told The Associated Press on Friday that the framework of the deal
to expand starting next season had been reached but that many details and an
official contract remained unfinished. The person requested anonymity because
of the ongoing negotiations.
ESPN, quoting its own unnamed sources, said its average additional payment to
the CFP for the six years of the expanded playoff --- which would include 12
more games than under the current 12-team format --- would be $345 million a
year.
The current six-year deal that begins this year is worth $7.8 billion.
The parties have been discussing a format in which the Power Four conference
champs and the highest-ranked team from the Group of Six earn automatic bids,
with the other 19 teams being chosen by a selection committee.
The first two rounds of the expanded playoff would be held on campuses, with
the top eight teams getting a first-round bye and hosting the next week.
The major bowls would continue to host the quarterfinals and semifinals, with
the championship game staying in late January.
While some have worried that the expanded playoff would water down college
football's regular season, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has argued that
the bye week, home-field advantage and the quest to get into the top 24 would
give a wider variety of teams something to play for in November.
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