The College Football Playoff’s inevitable move to include 24 teams is happening next year, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. This has been the chatter all year long, and a deal appears imminent.
Sources: The College Football Playoff is nearing a deal to expand to 24 teams, per sources. The new format will start in 2027 and is expected to come together in the near future, pending final approvals. pic.twitter.com/tRdVAiqKax
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 15, 2026
No details have been confirmed, but Thamel says that there will be 19 at-large bids along with four auto-bids for the conference title winners, along with the top group of six team. The New Year’s Six bowls would still host the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the first two rounds being played on campuses. Seeds 1-8 would earn a first round bye.
The new deal would run through 2031.
NEW: The College Football Playoff is nearing a deal to expand to 24 teams, ESPN reports.
— On3 (@On3) October 15, 2026
The new format will start in 2027. pic.twitter.com/YbcPsxMLsf
And now for the rest of the details — will we have a requirement to play ten power-four opponents? Do conference title games simply go away? It sounds like we’ll have answers to those questions pretty quickly.
If this were in place for 2026 and the season ended today, Tennessee would get the No. 14 seed. They would host No. 19 USC, with the winner moving on to face No. 3 seed Miami at Miami. No. 9 faces No. 24, No. 10 faces No. 23, and so on and so forth.
Most probably agree that 24 teams is entirely too many — there just aren’t 24 title-worth teams out there and never will be. However, thanks to that TV money, it was always going to happen sooner than later.
What do you think about the new format?