New College Football Playoff deal agreed on |
A College Football Playoff deal that shifts even more revenue to two particular conferences has been agreed on.
The deal is said to start in 2026 and be six years long, and it will shift from a largely even revenue split for the 'Power' leagues to one where the Big Ten and SEC will get 58% of the revenue share (29% each), with the ACC next (17.1%), then the Big 12 (14.7%) and the remaining to Notre Dame and the Group of Five leagues. What hasn't been agreed to but what is "expected," is a move to a 14-team Playoff with it. "The memorandum of understanding guarantees that the field will have at least 12 teams in 2026 and beyond, but sources indicate there is a strong preference for a 14-team field that includes the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next nine highest-ranked teams. Sources caution the exact format is not done yet, and the Big Ten and SEC will have the bulk of control over that, but others will be protected by parameters that have been put in place that can't be altered," said ESPN's reporting, the network that is expected to carry it. "Starting in 2026, ESPN is poised to spend an average of nearly $1.3 billion on the playoff for six seasons. The deal would include the final two years on the current CFP contract, plus a new six-year agreement for the next iteration of the playoff, sources told ESPN." Per ESPN, the ACC schools will get "more than $13 million annually" from the Playoff TV deal, which is compared to more than $21 million per for the Big Ten and SEC schools. There is said to be a "look-in" clause in 2028 for leaders involved to see how the distribution is working out. "The vast disparity in revenue from top to bottom has already elicited discontent and pushback from schools outside of the Big Ten and SEC," said ESPN's reporting. "To help alleviate some of those concerns, sources said a 'look-in' clause for 2028 has been added to give the commissioners and Notre Dame leadership a chance to reevaluate the contractual agreements based on how every league has performed to that point. There's also a clause that permits that timeline to be accelerated if there is 'material realignment' again." What also has been reported but not agreed on is multiple automatic qualifiers specific to conferences, such as to the teams benefitting the most from the deal in the SEC and Big Ten. "There still exists the possibility of multiple automatic qualifiers for individual leagues, including a format that grants three automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten, two each to the ACC and Big 12 and one to the highest ranked Group of Five program, with three at-large spots — a 3-3-2-2-1+3 model," said Yahoo. "There is a 2-2-1-1-1+7 model under consideration, too. It grants two automatic berths each to the SEC and Big Ten, one each to the ACC and Big 12, one to the highest-ranked Group of Five, with seven at-large spots." The 2024 season will feature the first 12-team College Football Playoff, which will have the Top 5 conference champions (Top 4 getting the Top 4 seeds and a bye) and seven at-large teams. College Football Playoff Exec. Dir. Bill Hancock confirmed all FBS conferences & Notre Dame have reached an agreement to continue the CFP from 2026-2031.
No format commitments were made (number of teams, AQs) except AT LEAST 5 conferences will have annual access to the CFP.
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