ESPN is reportedly preventing the College Football Playoff from expanding to 24 teams

The College Football Playoff was supposed to provide some certainty in a sport that has for too long based its awards on unreliable polls. And as long as there was no controversy about crowning the team as national champions, it worked.

But if there’s one thing fans have learned over the last few years, it’s that few things are certain in modern college football. And after one round of expansion from four teams to 12 teams, there is now more discussion and debate about the next round of growth.

Some, including many fans, are happy to leave the field at 12 years old. The SEC, arguably the strongest conference, wants to expand to 16 while maximizing the number of major teams. According to them, this will allow more teams to reach the field based on strength of schedule rather than conference affiliation. Strength of schedule = more SEC teams, so the thinking goes.

Then there’s the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and independent Notre Dame.

IN THE STRUGGLE: NIL ARMS RACE DISCOVERS NEW REPUTATION FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY-OFF EXPANSION

This week, multiple reports confirmed that the majority of the power conferences and the Irish want a 24-team playoff field. While this number has been met with justified skepticism by most fans, there seems to be a lot of support in the sport.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark told Open3 24 is their strong preference.

“We love 24, we want 24,” he said. “There are too many teams left out and 24 teams provide the type of access that is guaranteed. However, we need to do the work around the economics around a 24-team format and make sure we address unintended consequences.”

HERE’S WHY THE COACHES ASSOCIATION’S 24-TEAM COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAY-OFF IS SPOILERING THE SPORTS

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said much the same thing at the conference’s media days this week.

“Our aspiration with the coaches and ADs is 24,” Phillips said. “When you leave the national championship teams out of the playoffs, you don’t have the right numbers. We’ve been through that, we’ve been through that at Florida State when the field was four years old.

“I know other schools are struggling with this. Notre Dame was a CFP-worthy team last year, and you saw what happened to the last team invited from Miami.”

The College Football Playoff National Championship trophy is displayed on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the game between Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field on November 22, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)

This aligns with suggestions the Big Ten and Commissioner Tony Petitti offered in initial discussions following the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season. So if the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Notre Dame, four of college football’s top five voices, agree on 24 teams, why hasn’t that happened already?

Reportedly mostly because of ESPN.

Phillips added Wednesday: “ESPN has made it clear they want it to stay at 12 or 14, but they don’t want it to go past 16.”

What? ESPN? Does one broadcaster have that much power over the playoff format of an entire sport?

There are some reasons why ESPN wants the playoff to stay where it is or not expand too much. They basically have the rights to up to a 14-team field, meaning they would have to bid for any additional playoff games. Ironically, for fans who dislike ESPN’s perceived level of control over college football, it is precisely that level of control that could potentially stall the unpopular 24-team format.

The SEC also has an important voice in the room, and Commissioner Greg Sankey recently reaffirmed his belief that a 16-team expansion is better.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. GET THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey watches before the college football game between Alabama and Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Nov. 12, 2022. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportwire)

“That focus hasn’t changed,” Sankey said Monday at a media conference in Alabama. “We are open to conversation, but there are many ideas that need to be supported by analysis and information, not speculation.”

The incentives here are clear. The ACC and Big 12 believe a larger field will provide them with more opportunities in a new environment dominated by the Big Ten and SEC. The Big Ten thinks 24 teams would bring in more revenue and the opportunity to host more home playoff games. Notre Dame realized that competing on the strength of their Big Ten or SEC resumes and reaching the top 12 every year would be a challenge for them as teams optimized their schedules to make the playoffs rather than playing tougher non-conference opponents.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

The SEC, meanwhile, wants its 16 teams to submit as few automatic bids as possible in hopes of fielding half of their conferences each year. Thus, they reinforce their view that they are the leading conference in the sport. And considering Sankey’s previous statements, half the conference is not an exaggeration.

Where this goes is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to see ESPN winning in the long run compared to the strength of other conferences.