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The 24 team playoff is officially coming to college football in 2027 after the College Football Playoff and ESPN reached a five-year agreement reportedly worth nearly $1.7 billion. The deal keeps ESPN as the event’s exclusive broadcast partner while introducing a much larger postseason field and significant changes to the college football calendar.
According to sources cited by ESPN, the expanded format will replace the current 12-team model after only two seasons. The agreement also removes the lucrative Power 4 conference championship games, creating one of the most consequential changes in the sport’s modern history.
Historic 24 Team Playoff Format Revealed
The new postseason structure will feature 24 teams competing for the national championship. The field will consist of 19 at-large bids, the champions of the Power 4 conferences and the highest-ranked Group of 6 team.
Notre Dame will no longer have an automatic path into the playoff. The Fighting Irish must earn one of the at-large positions by ranking high enough in the CFP selection committee’s standings. The committee will continue releasing weekly rankings, although it could expand its public list from 25 teams to as many as 30 to highlight programs competing for the final spots.
- Twenty-four teams will qualify for the 2027 playoff.
- Nineteen places will be awarded through at-large selection.
- Power 4 conference champions will receive automatic bids.
- The highest-ranked Group of 6 team will qualify.
- The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes.
Powerful Incentives Will Shape the Bracket
The expanded playoff is designed to preserve the value of the regular season through home-field advantages and favorable matchups. The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes before hosting a quarterfinal-round game. Seeds nine through 16 will host opening-round contests on their campuses.
The No. 1 seed will face the winner of the No. 16-versus-No. 17 matchup, while the No. 2 seed will meet the winner of the No. 15-versus-No. 18 game. Those incentives mean teams near the middle of the rankings will have plenty to play for late in the season, whether they are fighting to host a game or simply trying to remain in the field.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has strongly supported the 24-team model and argued that the tiered structure will continue rewarding teams for regular-season success. The highest-ranked programs will receive the clearest path to the championship, while lower seeds must win multiple games away from home.
Conference Championship Games Expected to End
Sources told ESPN that the Power 4 conferences are expected to determine their champions through regular-season standings and existing tiebreaking procedures. That would eliminate the SEC, Big 12, ACC and Big Ten championship games from the schedule.
The change has major financial implications for the networks involved. ESPN is expected to receive roughly $140 million annually from the cancellation of the SEC, Big 12 and ACC title games. Fox is reportedly set to recover approximately $50 million per year from the loss of the Big Ten championship game.
ESPN’s additional annual payment for the expanded postseason is expected to average $345 million over the five-year period. After accounting for savings from canceled conference championship broadcasts, the network’s effective additional cost will be approximately $205 million annually.
New Calendar Creates Space for Army-Navy
The regular season will begin during “Week Zero,” the week before Labor Day, and conclude on Thanksgiving weekend. The Army-Navy rivalry game will move to a standalone window on December 4, the weekend traditionally associated with conference championship games.
The game is expected to be followed later that evening by the Heisman Trophy ceremony. The existing policy governing Army and Navy will remain in place: if either team reaches the playoff and then loses the rivalry game, that result will not affect its CFP standing.
The playoff is scheduled to begin on the second weekend of December 2027. The national championship game will remain set for January 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
New Year’s Six Bowls Retain Key Roles
The New Year’s Six bowls will continue hosting the most important rounds of the postseason. The Sugar Bowl will stage a quarterfinal on December 31, 2027, while the Fiesta, Peach and Rose bowls will host quarterfinals on January 1, 2028.
The semifinals will be played at the Orange Bowl on January 13 and the Cotton Bowl on January 14. ESPN will remain the exclusive rights holder through the 2031 season, though it may sublicense six of the 12 newly added games to approved broadcast partners.
Frequently Asked Questions About the 24 Team Playoff
When will the 24 team playoff begin?
The expanded format will debut during the 2027 college football season, with the championship game scheduled for January 24, 2028.
How many teams will receive automatic bids?
The field will include the four Power 4 conference champions and the highest-ranked Group of 6 team. The remaining 19 spots will be awarded at large.
Will Notre Dame automatically qualify?
No. Notre Dame will need to rank high enough to earn one of the 19 at-large bids.
Which teams will host first-round games?
Teams seeded ninth through 16th will host first-round games, while the top eight seeds will receive byes.
What happens to conference championship games?
The SEC, Big 12, ACC and Big Ten are expected to use regular-season standings and tiebreakers to determine their champions instead of staging title games.
