The College Football Playoff is closing in on a deal to expand its field to 24 teams, according to a report by ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel on Thursday afternoon.
Thamel also reported that the new format, which would take the Playoff from its current 12 teams and double it, would start immediately for the 2027 season.
The new 24-team Playoff “is expected to come together in the near future, pending final approvals,” Thamel reported.
Thamel also reported that the College Football Playoff “is finalizing a deal with ESPN to purchase the additional games through the 2031 college football season, which is the same length as ESPN’s current deal.”
The movement to a 12-team field for the Playoff doesn’t go back that much, with the expansion from a 4-team field to a 12-team field starting in the 2024 season. That means if this expansion to 24 teams is approved, the 12-team format would have only lasted 3 seasons, from 2024-26.
If the Playoff does indeed expand to 24 teams in 2027, it would provide a lot more margin for error for teams to make the field. But for this season, the CFP is still only 12 teams, and here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the best odds to make the coveted field in December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
