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College football sells another piece of its soul with CFP officially expanding to 24 teams

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF EXPANDING TO 24 TEAMS IN 2027, WITH MORE GAMES COMING TO CAMPUSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY The five-year deal is worth nearly $1.7 billion, which was first reported by ESPN.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 1 source•1 min read•Updated November 9, 2026, 4:47 PM UTC
Key points
  • Do you honestly think that the same group of people who just agreed to a massive television contract with ESPN are not already thinking about expanding the playoff to 32 teams in 2032 or 36 teams….
  • NICK SABAN SPEAKS TRUTH ON CFP EXPANSION: ‘THERE’S NOT 24 TEAMS’ THAT CAN WIN A NATIONAL TITLE, BUT MONEY WINS "Too many.
  • "The 2026 SEC Football Championship Game, to be played on December 5 in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will be the 35th edition of the game that began in 1992." While the Power-4 conferences have released statements about their title games, the Group of Six conferences are still deciding.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE No, there was no need for the quick-trigger to help change the sport of college football once again, but it always feels as though money wins in these situations.

Additional details
  • No, this is not a popular move for fans of the sport, with former Alabama head coach Nick Saban recently making some strong comments against the idea of having that many teams competing for a national championship on a yearly basis.
  • "The decision coincides with the College Football Playoff’s expansion to a 24-team format.
  • "The Southeastern Conference announced today that the 2026 SEC Football Championship Game will be the final edition of the event," the SEC said in a statement.
  • At first, there was a growing consensus that a move to 16 teams could be in the works for a number of years before making the full transition to 24 teams.
  • There’s not 24 teams in the country that can win a National Championship," Nick Saban told the Kelce brothers on the New Heights podcast.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Fox NewsNovember 9, 2026, 4:47 PM UTC →

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