CFP and ESPN near deal to expand College Football Playoff to 24 teams for 2027, reports say

The College Football Playoff and ESPN are reported to be close to finalising a television agreement that would double the CFP field from 12 teams to 24 teams beginning in the 2027 season.

Multiple outlets report the deal is not yet official but that the core architecture under discussion would reserve 19 at-large berths, include the four Power Four conference champions, and add the highest-ranked Group of Six team.

Those reports say the likely format would give the top eight seeds byes while teams seeded 9 through 24 play eight first-round games, and that at least some proposals would stage the first two rounds on campus with the New Year’s Six bowls hosting the quarterfinals and semifinals. Coverage across outlets highlights remaining procedural obstacles.

Sports Illustrated and the New York Post both name a Dec. 1 approval deadline that could affect whether the 24-team format can debut in 2027; those outlets and others say final details on format, scheduling and television rights are still unresolved.

Reporters quoted or cited in the reporting include Matt Zenitz and Pete Thamel; ESPN is reported to be the negotiating broadcast partner in the near-complete deal according to multiple outlets.

The reported 19-at-large / 4-power-four / 1-group-of-six mix — described in several accounts as a “19+4+1” approach — would change access for Group of Six programs and increase the number of at-large selections compared with the current system.

Coverage says the structure under discussion would likely eliminate or materially alter the role of some Power Four conference championship games, and that moving to 24 teams has produced public differences among conference leaders: Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports report that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has publicly supported a 16-team model while Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has publicly backed the 24-team plan.

Reporters say the change would require adjustments to the season calendar; Sports Illustrated notes the expansion discussion has included pushing the season-opening weekend earlier by one week.

CBS Sports has illustrated what a 24-team bracket would have looked like using prior-season rankings and described operational proposals such as expanding first-round byes from four to eight for top seeds. Outlets caution the agreement is not final.

The New York Post and other coverage explicitly state the deal has not been finalised, and several pieces say the CFP still needs to approve format and scheduling changes before they can bind the 2027 season. Those outlets present the proposal as likely but conditional on contract completion and CFP sign-off.

The reporting brings together franchise, conference and broadcast considerations: proponents argue a larger field would broaden access and increase television inventory, while opponents including some conference leaders have publicly argued for smaller expansion models; those positions appear across the reporting but the sources do not provide an exhaustive public accounting of every conference’s view.

The single-sentence historical context relevant to today’s reporting is that the CFP moved from a 4-team field to a 12-team field for the 2024 season, a change noted in coverage as precedent for further expansion.