ESPN and the Playoff Reportedly Agree on a 24-Team Field, and DeSantis Objects

The College Football Playoff is reportedly set to get a lot bigger. According to ESPN reporting as relayed by other outlets and citing unnamed sources, the playoff and ESPN have agreed to a five-year deal worth nearly $1.7 billion that would expand the field to 24 teams starting in 2027, with ESPN staying on as the broadcast partner. Details here come from secondary accounts and snippets of the original report, and the terms have not been confirmed by an official release.

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the plan. In a social media post, as described by The Hill, the governor called the expansion "short-sighted" and said it "will further erode what has traditionally made college football special."

A 24-team bracket would also mean some longtime fixtures, the Power 4 conference title games among them, would be gone.

What the Deal Reportedly Includes

The details so far come largely from reporting, not an official release. A post on X from ESPN reporter Heather Dinich, whose identity as an ESPN reporter should be verified before publication, said "sources told ESPN" the deal was worth nearly $1.7 billion over five years. The Daily Caller, citing ESPN's sourcing, put the figure at approximately $1.7 billion. The Hill described the media rights more loosely as "more than $1 billion" over five seasons. The figures differ, and none has been confirmed by the playoff or ESPN.

The new money would build on the six-year, $7.8 billion contract signed in March 2024 that runs through 2031, according to the National Football Post.

The Daily Caller laid out the reported structure. The Power 4 conference championship games would be eliminated. The regular season would begin in "Week Zero," the week before Labor Day, and wrap up Thanksgiving weekend. The national title game would stay on Jan. 24, 2028. The field would include 19 at-large bids, the Power 4 champions, and the top-ranked Group of 6 teams.

That math leaves a loose end. Nineteen at-large bids plus four conference champions makes 23, and the Daily Caller did not say how many Group of 6 teams would get in, so how the 24th slot is filled is not yet clear.

Notre Dame would also lose its guaranteed spot and would need to earn an at-large bid on its ranking, the Daily Caller reported. The selection committee would keep a top-25 ranking and could expand it to a top 30. Those details appeared only in the Daily Caller's account among the reporting reviewed for this story.

ESPN Sounds Pleased

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, in a statement quoted by the Daily Caller, said, "We value the trust that the CFP has placed in us as its exclusive media partner." He added that the network would "remain firmly committed to elevating it in its new, expanded 24-team format."

Accounts differ on how official all of this is. The Hill wrote that ESPN and the CFP committee announced the expansion Monday. The Daily Caller and the ESPN post framed it as a sourced report. Whether a formal announcement was made is unclear, and no release spelling out the terms has been confirmed.

A Governor Objects

DeSantis's objection goes to the heart of the debate: whether a bigger field makes the regular season matter less. His two quoted remarks, as relayed by The Hill, are the only reaction in the reporting reviewed.

The political backdrop is unsettled. The Hill noted that the Protect College Sports Act passed the Senate this fall but appears unlikely to pass this year.

What Comes Next

The open questions are basic ones: a formal confirmation of the dollar figure, the final selection rules, and exactly how the Group of 6 teams fit into the bracket. Any reaction from conferences or other officials was not reviewed for this story. If the reported timeline holds, the first 24-team field would come in 2027, with a title game on Jan. 24, 2028.