The College Football Playoff said Saturday it will "continue to have ongoing discussions with ESPN" over media rights tied to a potential 24-team playoff, after a 30-day exclusive negotiating window ended Friday. Sources told ESPN the talks are likely to extend into next week, giving the network time to consider a financial offer before the rights move to the open market.
The CFP described the dialogue as "constructive" and said it would carry the conversations forward as it determines the path ahead. The 24-team idea originated in February, and CFP leaders met in late September at Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois. If the expansion proceeds, it could begin as soon as the 2027 season and would eliminate the Power 4 conference championship games.
Unwinding those championship game contracts is a key part of the negotiations, with sources valuing them collectively at around $200 million. Group of 6 conferences would not have to eliminate their title games, and some have privately said they strongly want to keep them. The second issue is the value of the 10 additional games. If no deal with ESPN is reached, the CFP could sell those games on the open market, though ESPN would keep certain matching rights. ESPN retains the current 11 games, plus the first two new ones, regardless.
Sources said no one expects a financial windfall from a 24-team playoff, but no one wants to lose money along with their conference title games. Under that format, the regular season would start in what is now called Week 0 and end on Thanksgiving weekend, followed by an off week before the playoff begins in the first Saturday of December. Executive director Rich Clark said second-round games would "most likely" be played on campus sites, though that remains under discussion.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing