The College Football Playoff expansion to 24 teams will take effect for the 2027 season, sources told CBS Sports on Monday, in a move that doubles the field and ends conference championship games. The playoff is in the third year of its current 12 team format. The new field will be built on a 19+4+1 model, with 19 at large bids, four spots reserved for Power Four champions and one for the highest rated Group of Six champion. First and second round games will be played on campuses.
The College Football Playoff expansion has been expected for weeks, and CBS Sports reported the deal is now done in substance even though no official announcement has been made. The Big Ten pushed for a 24 team field, while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey publicly backed a 16 team playoff before accepting the larger format. The two leagues hold ultimate authority over the format, and their deadline to finalise a decision was 1 December. The move ends championship games that have been a fixture of the sport for decades.
College Football Playoff expansion ends title games
The College Football Playoff expansion means the end of conference championship games, which have been among the most watched and most lucrative weekends in the sport. CBS Sports reported that the playoff could offer an additional 320 million dollars on top of the current contract, which averages 1.2 billion dollars a year. Playoff executives were expected to seek roughly 70 million to 80 million dollars above the nearly 250 million dollar combined value of those championship games, according to sources familiar with the process. The money question was the last sticking point for commissioners who did not want to give up the title game revenue.
The 12 team format that began in 2024 played first round games on campus. The College Football Playoff expansion keeps campus games for the first and second rounds, which means more home crowds and more travel for the teams that advance. The exact shape of the bracket has not been announced, and sources told CBS Sports there is no official word yet on how the 24 team field will be seeded.
College Football Playoff expansion and the money
The College Football Playoff expansion also changes the calendar for the sport. Teams that reach the final will play more games than they do now, and the regular season will carry more weight for the at large places. Nineteen of the 24 spots will go to at large teams, which means a team that loses twice can still reach the field if its record holds up against the rest of the country. The four Power Four champions keep a reserved place, and the highest rated Group of Six champion takes the last spot. That shape gives the biggest leagues a clear path while keeping a door open for the rest of the sport.
The television talks sit behind the decision. The playoff’s 30 day negotiating window with ESPN was set to close at the end of last week, and the extra money from the network is what makes the larger field work. CBS Sports analyst John Talty said on the network’s College Football Insiders show that the championship games will be gone. CBS Sports reporter Brandon Marcello reported that one sticking point for commissioners was how to make up the money lost without those games. The new deal answers that question, at least for the leagues that run the playoff.
College Football Playoff expansion: what happens next
The College Football Playoff expansion still needs a final sign off before 1 December, when the Big Ten and SEC must settle the format. The management committee met at the Big Ten headquarters in Illinois to talk through the expansion and its logistics, according to CBS Sports. Once the format is final, the playoff will need to set dates for the extra rounds and settle how the bracket is seeded. The 2026 season will finish under the 12 team format, and the first 24 team field will take the field in the autumn of 2027.
The College Football Playoff expansion is the biggest change to the sport since the 12 team field arrived, and it will be felt in every conference. Teams that once needed a perfect season to reach the playoff can now get in with a strong record and a good ranking. The championship games are gone, the field is twice as large, and the 2027 season will be the first test of whether bigger means better. The leagues that run the playoff have decided it does.