STILLWATER – According to multiple national sources including ESPN and The Athletic the parameters for the next version of the College Football Playoff, which will begin in the 2026 season with a new agreement and a new television rights contract with ESPN that gurantees an average of close to $1.3 billion per season, have been agreed to by all nine conferences involved and Notre Dame.
The memorandum of understanding guarantees that the CFP will have at least 12 teams in the format for 2026 and beyond. That doesn’t preclude the 14-team format, which has been pushed lately and predominantly by the SEC and Big Ten, which many observers fell will have greater control of the direction the CFP takes moving forward.
"Anything else regarding format is to be determined," CFP executive director Bill Hancock said Friday. "This is a very important next step for CFP, of course, and we do still have details to be finalized regarding the format, but I want to stress that the really good news is that football fans will continue to see the best teams in the country competing for the national championship on the playing field. This arrangement will also ensure the expanded access will continue to be in place. We firmly believe this, about the importance of a competitive opportunity for more programs and more players and more fans. We're pleased to be in the position we're in, while we know there's still more work to be done."
The commissioners and Notre Dame agreed that the conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 and the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion would earn playoff berths, and Notre Dame will have protections that will survive regardless of the ultimate format.
According to ESPN, “the other commissioners and Notre Dame leadership surrendered the bulk of the control over the format to the SEC and Big Ten as "part of the give-and-take.”
The popular idea floated has been three guranteed spots in a 14-team field for the SEC and the Big Ten, two guaranteed spots for the Big 12 and the ACC, one spot guranteed to the best school in the Group of Five, and then three at-large schools based on the rankings of the CFP Selection Committee.
The new CFP contract goes hand-in-hand with its expected new TV contract with ESPN.
