College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams as conference title games bow out

It is now official — the College Football Playoff (CFP) is expanding to 24 teams. After just three years with a 12-team format, the CFP committee and ESPN have agreed a new deal that will increase the number of teams in the postseason tournament.

The five-year deal is worth nearly $1.7 billion, which was first reported by ESPN. There had been ongoing discussions between the network and the CFP over when the right time would be to make the move.

At first, there was a growing consensus that a 16-team format could be in place for a number of years before a full transition to 24 teams. But in the end, the decision was made to move to a 24-team format starting in 2027.

The move will also signal the end of conference championship games for a majority of the leagues in the sport. ESPN will bear the cost of eliminating the title games for the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC to make room for the expanded playoff.

The Southeastern Conference said in a statement, "The Southeastern Conference announced today that the 2026 SEC Football Championship Game will be the final edition of the event. The decision coincides with the College Football Playoff's expansion to a 24-team format."

The 2026 SEC Football Championship Game, to be played on 5 December in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will be the 35th edition of the event that began in 1992.

While the Power-4 conferences have released statements about their title games, the Group of Six conferences are still deciding.

The move is not popular with fans of the sport. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban recently made some strong comments against the idea of so many teams competing for a national championship every year.

"Too many. There's not 24 teams in the country that can win a National Championship," Nick Saban told the Kelce brothers on the New Heights podcast. "So, what is the reason to actually do it? It's about the money."

He added, "What you're giving up, which I hate to see, the SEC Championship Game, playing in the SEC Championship was a big thing for our players, it was a big thing to our fans. It was a tradition and it was a great venue."

Saban said, "I mean, there's only two teams who can play in a National Championship, but more teams can play in those kind of championship games. There's a lot of pride in winning the conference championship."

It was only a matter of time before the postseason would be expanded again. Just 10 months ago, CFP leaders were discussing a four-team increase. A 12-team CFP lasted just three years.

Following the national championship game to conclude the 2026 season in Las Vegas, a new era will begin in a sport that seems to love changing things on a consistent basis.