College Football Playoff to expand to 24 teams in 2027

The College Football Playoff will expand from 12 to 24 teams in the 2027 season under a new five-year media-rights agreement with ESPN, which will carry all 23 games through the 2031-32 season. The playoff’s current 12-team format will remain in place for the 2026 season.

The expanded field will include the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Six conferences, and 19 at-large selections. The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes. Seeds nine through 16 will host first-round games, with the winners travelling to face the top eight teams in the second round.

The first two rounds will be played at campus sites, accounting for 16 of the 23 games. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be held at bowl sites. ESPN said at least three games in each of the first and second rounds will air on ABC; it has not announced the full distribution plan for the remaining games.

The five-year agreement is reported to be worth nearly $1.7 billion. The College Football Playoff’s announcement did not disclose financial terms. The new deal adds to an existing six-year agreement, signed in 2024, that made ESPN the playoff’s sole media-rights...