College Football Playoff to Expand to 24 Teams Starting in 2027-28 Season

The College Football Playoff will expand from 12 teams to 24 beginning with the 2027-28 season, a sweeping change that will more than double the field, give the top eight seeds first-round byes and move 16 postseason games onto college campuses.

The CFP announced Monday that its management committee unanimously approved the new format. The 2026-27 playoff will still use the current 12-team system, with the national championship scheduled for Las Vegas on Jan. 25, 2027. The expanded event will run through at least the 2031-32 season. As part of the change, ESPN will become the exclusive worldwide media-rightsholder for the 24-team playoff and will carry all 23 games. Financial terms were not disclosed, though ESPN and other outlets have reported a separate five-year deal worth about $1.7 billion, or roughly $345 million in additional annual value.

Under the new structure, the field will include the conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, plus one automatic berth for the highest-ranked team from a Group-of-Six conference. The remaining 19 spots will go to the highest-ranked teams left in the final CFP selection committee rankings.

Seeds 1 through 8 will receive first-round byes and host second-round games on campus. Seeds 9 through 16 will host first-round campus games against seeds 17 through 24. In all, the expanded playoff will feature 23 games, 16 of them on campus. That is up from four campus games under the current 12-team format. The quarterfinals and semifinals will remain at the CFP’s six bowl partner sites.

The CFP also laid out a revised calendar to fit the larger bracket. The 2027 regular season will end Saturday, Nov. 27, 2027, and the playoff will begin in the first full week of December. The top eight seeds will have two open weeks before their first playoff game.

The CFP said no playoff games will be scheduled in conflict with the Army-Navy game. Heisman Trophy Weekend also will move earlier, with the 2027 ceremony set for Dec. 3-5. The first national championship under the 24-team format will be played in New Orleans on Monday, Jan. 24, 2028.

The playoff also adopted new scheduling standards tied to the expansion. The CFP said those standards are meant to encourage stronger regular-season schedules, and the selection committee will not give weight to wins over more than one Football Championship Subdivision opponent.

The move marks another rapid shift for the sport’s championship system. The playoff began as a four-team event in 2014 and expanded to 12 teams for the 2024 postseason. The jump to 24 teams is the biggest overhaul yet, changing not only the size of the bracket but also the postseason calendar and the role of campus-hosted games.

“The decision to expand was driven by a desire to increase opportunities for FBS programs, student-athletes and fan bases to participate in the Playoff and have a chance to play for the CFP National Championship, while new scheduling standards incentivize institutions to schedule more compelling non-conference matchups during the regular season,” the CFP said in its release.