The College Football Playoff and ESPN have officially signed a $1.3 billion extension that runs through 2031-32.
According to the Athletic, on Tuesday, ESPN and the College Football Playoff announced a finalized agreement granting the network exclusive rights through the 2031-32 season. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal is a six-year extension worth an average of $1.3 billion annually.
Two seasons remain on ESPN’s original 12-year deal for the New Year’s Six Bowls (two CFP semifinals) and national championship game. As part of the deal, ESPN adds the four new first-round games in the expanded 12-team format that begins this season. The six-year extension begins in 2026-27. Starting in 2026-27, the national title game moves to ABC.
News: The CFP and ESPN have made their $1.3B/year extension official. Runs through 2031-32.
Starting in 2026-27, the national title game moves to ABC.
And ESPN can sublicense select games to other networks starting this year. https://t.co/T19UHd9FC7
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 19, 2024
College Football Playoff to move to 14-teams?
The contract left room for a possible expansion from 12 teams to 14 teams based on the success of the 12-team playoff. A 12-team playoff system has yet to take place, so no decision on 14 is set to move forward.
Network executives previously told The Athletic the deal will remain at the exact dollar figure even if the CFP opts to expand the field from 12 to 14 teams. The CFP met with numerous potential media partners during recent negotiations, but no other network made a bid for any games.
Gridiron Heroics previously covered the possibility of a 14-team playoff, and the stall in contract talks before this finalized deal.
Financial Growth Through College Football Playoff
According to executives, the terms of the ESPN deal have been set for some time, but the conferences had delayed approving it due to a lack of clarity over the future structure of the event. Finally, last Friday, the nine continuing FBS conferences and Notre Dame signed off on a basic framework that includes uneven revenue distribution among the major conferences.
Multiple sources briefed on the model confirmed the Big Ten and SEC will receive more than $21 million per school, the ACC around $13 million each, and the Big 12 around $12 million each, with around $1.8 million for the Group of 5 conferences collectively. The remainder goes to independents, including over $12 million for Notre Dame and the Football Championship Subdivision.
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