{"id":709,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/709","headline":"College Football Playoff nearing deal to expand to 24 teams in 2027","dek":"The expansion would likely wipe out Power Four conference championship games under a 19+4+1 format.","body":"The College Football Playoff is closing in on a deal to double its field from 12 to 24 teams, with the new format targeted to start in 2027. According to sources, an agreement is expected to come together soon, pending final approvals.\n\nThe expansion was reportedly hatched by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and his staff back in 2025, an idea that initially drew skepticism before gaining traction toward reality. Prior reporting indicates a 24-team field would necessarily eliminate Power Four conference championship games, reshaping how the season builds toward the postseason.\n\nESPN will retain exclusive broadcast rights to the 24-team playoff through the 2031 season, which lines up with when the network's current deal was set to run out anyway. The move follows the relatively smooth rollout of the 12-team playoff, which expanded access for at-large teams without gutting the importance of the regular season, easing some of the fears that greeted the last expansion.\n\nStill, going from 12 to 24 teams is a bigger structural shift than the last jump, touching everything from opening weekend scheduling to how the national championship picture takes shape. Final confirmation of the format and deal terms is expected in the near future.","published_at":"2026-10-15T23:35:54.461229+00:00","source_count":7,"written_from":[{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"College Football Playoff set to expand from 12 to 24 teams next season","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/15/sports/college-football-playoff-set-to-expand-to-24-teams-next-season/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff expansion in near. Who are the winners and losers?","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-expansion-near-202404640.html"},{"outlet":"Fox Sports","publisher":"Fox Sports","title":"College Football Playoff Nears 24-Team Expansion","url":"https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/college-football-playoff-nears-24-team-expansion"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"College Football Playoff moving toward expansion from 12 to 24 teams in 2027: Sources","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7693216/2026/10/15/college-football-playoff-expansion-24-teams-2027/"},{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"College Football Playoff nears agreement on 24-team expansion that could end title games","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-expand-24-teams-2027/"},{"outlet":"Awful Announcing","publisher":"Awful Announcing","title":"CFP, ESPN ‘nearing deal’ on 24-team format to begin in 2027","url":"https://awfulannouncing.com/college-football/cfp-espn-nearing-deal-24-team-format-2027.html"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"Sources: CFP nearing deal for 24-team format beginning in '27","url":"https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50190410/sources-college-football-playoff-nearing-deal-24-team-format"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff reportedly near deal to expand to 24 teams in 2027","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/college-football-playoff-reportedly-near-deal-to-expand-to-24-teams-in-2027-174805098.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"CFP, ESPN ‘nearing deal’ on 24-team format to begin in 2027","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cfp-espn-nearing-deal-24-180738686.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff Reportedly Nearing Massive Expansion","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-reportedly-nearing-180229061.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff nearing future 24-team format","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-nearing-future-181450019.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff close to deal to move to 24 teams in 2027","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-close-deal-183314690.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff set to expand to 24 teams, and conference championship games are ending","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-set-expand-183345359.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff nears deal to expand to 24-team format","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-nears-deal-184500972.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff on verge of 24-team expansion for 2027","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-verge-24-190355820.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff 24-team expansion draws ire of fans: 'Absolutely sucks'","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-24-team-192452922.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff nearing deal to expand to 24 teams in 2027","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-nearing-deal-192844846.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"NCAA reportedly expanding College Football Playoff to 24 teams","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ncaa-reportedly-expanding-college-football-200238403.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Report: College Football Playoff finalizing an expansion to 24 team field for 2027 season","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/report-college-football-playoff-finalizing-201939592.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"College Football Playoff reportedly expanding to 24 teams in 2027","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/college-football-playoff-reportedly-expanding-222306280.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"What a 24-team College Football Playoff would look like this season","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/24-team-college-football-playoff-023219854.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F10%2FGettyImages-1245666019.jpg?w%3D1024","credit":"New York Post","width":7406},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}