CFP officials discuss expanding to 14-team playoff in 2026
The idea of a 14-team College Football Playoff starting in the 2026 season was discussed at CFP meetings in Dallas on Wednesday, just months before the start of the first season with a 12-team playoff. CFP executive director Bill Hancock acknowledged the idea was discussed but declined to provide specific details, saying, "There's work still to be done." With CFP officials pushing to finalize a deal for a television contract for the next eight years, three lingering issues remain unresolved: access, distribution of money and governance. Hancock said the issues need to be resolved within the next month. The CFP management committee, which is made up of the commissioners and incoming Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, met Wednesday and discussed potentially expanding the field after the current contract runs out following the 2025 season. A 14-team playoff would likely mean that the highest-ranked conference champions end up with a bye, which would incentivize those league title games. From there, the format would play out like the 12-team playoff that is debuting this season.
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Sources: 14-team College Football Playoff has 'momentum'
The future of the College Football Playoff contract after the 2025 season remains uncertain, with executive director Bill Hancock saying last week there's a "need" for the deal to be done in the next month. Since its inception in 2014, when it created a four-team model for a sport with five major conferences, the CFP has been unwieldy and awkward. The only certainty has been a slow pace, turf squabbles and an unstable conference environment that has kept everything fluid.
The television side of the deal has already been agreed to in principle. Starting in 2026, ESPN is poised to spend an average of nearly $1.3 billion on the playoff for six seasons. That leaves the CFP's two leadership groups -- the board of managers (presidents and chancellors) and management committee (commissioners and Notre Dame leadership) -- to come to a decision on the format to get the deal done.
According to sources, the model that's earned the most discussion coming out of the CFP meeting in Dallas is one that would include three automatic qualifier spots for the Big Ten and SEC, two for the Big 12 and ACC and one for the Group of Five. That would leave three at-large spots in that 14-team model. As for Notre Dame, sources told ESPN that the most likely option being discussed is that the Fighting Irish would earn a spot in the 14-team CFP if the selection committee ranks them in the top 14 on Selection Day.
There is optimism and "momentum" for a 14-team College Football Playoff starting in 2026, sources told ESPN, with an effort to reach a deal in the coming weeks.
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