CFP, ESPN ink 5-year, $1.7B deal to expand field, sources say

Key Points:

• The College Football Playoff (CFP) and ESPN have agreed to a five-year, nearly $1.7 billion deal to expand the playoff field to 24 teams starting in 2027, with ESPN continuing as the exclusive broadcast partner.
• The expanded format includes 19 at-large bids, the Power 4 conference champions, and the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, eliminating the previous guarantee for Notre Dame and the Power 4 conference championship games.
• The top eight teams will receive first-round byes, with early rounds hosted on higher-seeded campuses, while quarterfinals and semifinals remain at the New Year's Six bowl sites; the national championship game will be held on January 24, 2028, in New Orleans.
• The regular season will begin on "Week Zero" before Labor Day and end on Thanksgiving weekend, with the Army-Navy game moving to a standalone date on December 4, and the Heisman Trophy ceremony expected the same evening.
• ESPN will pay an additional $345 million annually for the expanded playoff, offset by savings from the cancellation of Power 4 conference championship games, with Fox also receiving compensation for the Big Ten title game cancellation.