ESPN locks up a 24-team College Football Playoff through 2031-32

ESPN locked up the biggest version yet of college football's postseason on Monday. The College Football Playoff said its management committee unanimously approved expanding the field to 24 teams starting with the 2027-28 season, and named ESPN the exclusive worldwide rights holder for every game through 2031-32, according to the CFP's announcement. The deal doubles the field, ends the Power 4 conference championship games and hands Disney more inventory in one of the most-watched events in sports.

Under the agreement, ESPN gets eight first-round games, eight second-round games, four quarterfinals, two semifinals and the national championship, up from 11 games in the current 12-team format, the network said in a release. The contract builds on the six-year deal the two sides announced in 2024, which began with the 2026-27 season, and keeps ESPN's exclusive rights to shows such as the CFP Selection Show and the weekly rankings broadcasts.

The CFP did not disclose financial terms. On3's Ross Dellenger reported that ESPN will pay an additional $345 million on top of the $1.3 billion a year it already sends to the CFP, Awful Announcing noted. Estimates suggest expansion will generate just $155 million in incremental revenue once conferences account for the championship games they give up, according to that report. Dellenger also reported that the playoff will not grow beyond 24 teams before ESPN's contract ends.

"This moment reinforces our position as the preeminent destination for college sports," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. The network pointed to its audience in the 12-team era. The 11-game playoff in 2025-26 averaged 16.3 million viewers, and the national championship between Indiana and Miami drew 30.1 million viewers across ESPN's MegaCast presentation, the most-watched college football game in 11 years. That was up roughly 36% from the 22.1 million who watched Ohio State play Notre Dame for the 2025 title.

The format itself changes the sport's calendar. The field will include the conference champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, the highest-ranked champion from the American, Conference USA, the MAC, the Mountain West, the Pac-12 or the Sun Belt, and the 19 highest-ranked remaining teams. Seeds one through eight earn first-round byes and host second-round games on campus. Seeds nine through 16 host first-round games against seeds 17 through 24. In all, 16 of the 23 playoff games will be played on campus, up from four.

The quarterfinals and semifinals stay at the six bowl partners: the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar bowls. The first national championship of the 24-team era is set for Jan. 24, 2028, in New Orleans.

Making room meant ending the Power 4 conference title games, ESPN reported. The regular season will run from the week before Labor Day through Thanksgiving weekend, and the final regular-season games of 2027-28 will be played on Nov. 27, 2027. The Army-Navy game moves into the old conference-championship weekend with a standalone window, while playoff teams get a week off. The Heisman Trophy ceremony moves a week earlier, to Dec. 3-5 in 2027. The CFP said decisions on conference championship games rest with each conference.

ESPN will put at least three games from each of the new first and second rounds on ABC, and it keeps the right to sublicense select games on top of its existing sublicense with TNT Sports. Disney Advertising remains the exclusive seller of the CFP's official sponsor program, with more inventory across the longer schedule.

CFP executive director Rich Clark said the committee of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua voted unanimously, and that revenue distribution will stay the same. He acknowledged that many fans oppose a bigger bracket but said that "ultimately, we just need to make a spectacular playoff" in remarks carried in ESPN's report on the deal.

This season's playoff is still played in the 12-team format, with first-round games on Dec. 18-19 and the national championship on Jan. 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. More sports business news is in the Sports Sector.