College Football Playoff, ESPN Agree To Nearly $1.7 Billion Deal Expanding Field To 24 Teams In 2027

IRVING, Texas — Starting in 2027, the College Football Playoff field will double to 24 teams under a five-year agreement with ESPN worth nearly $1.7 billion, sources told ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Monday.

The deal keeps ESPN in place as the playoff’s broadcast partner. It eliminates the Power 4 conference championship games as well. An official announcement should come soon, according to Dinich.

The Irving-based CFP had not given a timeline for a decision when it released a two-sentence statement Friday, The Associated Press reported.

“A formal agreement between the CFP and ESPN regarding future media rights in connection with potential expansion is in the final stages of review by the CFP,” the CFP said. “A decision on the agreement will be made following this review.”

Sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel in October that the network would pay an average of $345 million more each year for the next five years to carry the expanded field. Those payments come on top of the roughly $1.3 billion a year that ESPN already owes under the six-year, $7.8 billion contract the two sides agreed to in March 2024.

The SEC, ACC, and Big 12 championship games all air on ESPN under existing contracts. Thamel reported that ESPN would recoup about $140 million a year once those games went away.

Talks between the two began in September, when the CFP opened a 30-day exclusive negotiating window with ESPN. After it ran out in early October, the CFP said talks with the network would keep going. It released another statement on Oct. 15, the same day sources told Thamel a deal was near.

“Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week,” the CFP said. “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.”

Dinich then reported on Oct. 16 that the two sides had a handshake agreement in place, though board approval from every party involved was still needed.

Among the four games being cut is the Big 12 championship, which has been played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys, every year since the conference revived it in 2017. At the league’s media days in July 2023, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark announced an extension keeping the game at AT&T Stadium through the 2030 season.

“The Big 12 and AT&T Stadium both call the Metroplex home,” Yormark said in the conference’s release. “Through this extension, we will host our Football Championship at a world-class venue in our own backyard. We are grateful for the support and partnership of the Dallas Cowboys organization.”

This season’s Big 12 Championship Game is set for Friday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. CT on ABC. The conference moved it to Friday night this year after recent editions kicked off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturdays.

Texas Tech beat BYU 34-7 in last year’s game on Dec. 6, 2025, for its first Big 12 championship. The game drew a crowd of 85,519 and averaged 8.99 million viewers on ABC.

Brett Yormark Wants Big 12 Football Moment To Replace Title Game

Four days after the handshake agreement was reported, Yormark said at Big 12 basketball media days on Oct. 20 that nothing had been done yet with the playoff and that a 24-team field was only speculation at that point.

“Tentpole events for us matter,” Yormark said. “Our championship game has been very valuable. The basketball tournaments, both men and women, have been very valuable. If and when there’s a change made, we will look to backstop those events.”

Yormark also said he would like to replace the championship game with “some type of conference football moment.” In May, he told On3 that the Big 12 preferred a 24-team playoff, a year after he had backed a 16-team format.

When the conference held its spring meetings in Frisco, Big 12 coaches unanimously backed a 24-team playoff as well. The AP reported that the Big 12 would have had five teams in last season’s playoff under a 24-team field instead of only Texas Tech.

The Athletic reported that Yormark pushed back heavily on a mid-October call meant to mostly finalize the ESPN deal, according to people briefed on it. He and others believed the full group should be consulted more on the numbers and on taking the rights to market.

The Big 12 announced Oct. 30 that Yormark is stepping down Jan. 31, 2027, for a role outside college sports. The conference plans a national search for his replacement.

Nick Saban Calls 24 Teams Too Many As Format Details Emerge

Nick Saban won nine SEC championships in 17 seasons at Alabama before joining ESPN as an analyst. On Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, in an episode released Friday, Saban said the push to 24 teams comes down to money.

“It’s too many. There’s not 24 teams in the country that can win a national championship,” Saban said. “So, what is the reason to actually do it? It’s about the money. What you’re giving up, which I hate to see, is the SEC Championship Game. Playing in the SEC Championship was a big thing for our players and our fans. It was a tradition, and it was a great venue.”

“There’s only two teams who can play in a national championship, but more teams can play in [conference] championship games,” Saban continued. “There’s a lot of pride in winning the conference championship. [The SEC Championship] was a great game, and players loved that. We’re gonna give that up to have an extra game where the 24th team is going to play the ninth best team.”

According to the AP, the playoff and ESPN have discussed a format with automatic bids for the four Power 4 champions and the highest-ranked Group of 6 team. A selection committee would choose the other 19 teams.

In that bracket, the top eight seeds would receive first-round byes and host games the following week, with the first two rounds played on campuses. The major bowls would continue to host the quarterfinals and semifinals.

First-round games at campus sites open this season’s 12-team playoff on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19. On Jan. 1, 2027, the Cotton Bowl Classic hosts one of the quarterfinals. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas has the national championship game on Jan. 25.

In the first year of the 24-team field, the Cotton Bowl is scheduled to host a semifinal at AT&T Stadium on Jan. 14, 2028. New Orleans gets that season’s national championship game on Jan. 24, 2028.