Report: College Football Playoff nearing deal to expand to 24 teams in 2027, sources say

ESPN reporters Heather Dinich and Pete Thamel reported that the College Football Playoff is nearing an agreement to expand the tournament to 24 teams beginning in 2027.

According to multiple outlets that relayed the ESPN reporting, the framework under discussion would allocate 19 at-large berths, grant automatic berths to the champions of the Power 4 conferences as determined by each league, and include the highest-ranked Group of 6 team; sources said teams seeded No. 1–8 would receive first-round byes.

The plan discussed in the reports keeps the New Year’s Six bowl sites — the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Orange and Cotton — in place to host the quarterfinals and semifinals, while the national championship game would remain a January event.

The College Football Playoff issued a brief statement, quoted in one report, saying "Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week," and ESPN noted that a 30-day negotiation window between ESPN and the CFP began on Sept. 9 to settle the commercial terms of a 24-team field.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, identified in the coverage, has publicly argued the model will not devalue the regular season and pointed to "tiered incentives" built into the proposal. That defense of the structure appears linked in the reporting to the Big Ten’s role in advocating for a larger bracket.

Outlets differ in tone about the expansion’s merits: Sports Illustrated framed the move as ending the 12-team era that began two years earlier, while an opinion-oriented site described the change as inevitable and harmful to the sport, saying financial incentives drove the move.

Other outlets and headline-only reports from collegefootballnews.com, 247Sports and CBS Sports presented bracket simulations or argued the bracket’s competitive effects without contesting the core reporting that a 24-team deal is near completion.

All sources that carried substantive text tied the expansion’s start date to 2027 and emphasized that final approvals and details remain pending.

Coverage also flagged logistical and competitive questions that organisers will need to resolve if the deal is finalised: seeding methodology, assignment of byes, selection criteria for the 19 at-large spots, how the highest-ranked Group of 6 team is identified, and the expansion’s effects on player movement and coaching decisions, with one outlet specifically naming the transfer portal and the coaching carousel as areas of concern.

Reporting noted that the New Year’s Six bowls are expected to continue hosting the later rounds, leaving bowl venues and timing largely unchanged in the proposal that has circulated.

Because the primary reporting traces to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Heather Dinich, several outlets emphasised that the deal remains near-final rather than announced and that approvals are still required.

The package of facts in these reports combines commercial negotiation steps — the 30-day window with ESPN — league-level advocacy such as the Big Ten’s push, and practical tournament design elements including the number of at-large bids and first-round byes.