Much like the alarmist astronomers in \u201cDon\u2019t Look Up\u201d who can\u2019t get anyone to listen to them, 90 percent of actual college football fans are pleading with these guys: Don\u2019t do it! (That\u2019s a real number, by the way, based on several online polls.) But to this point, no one is listening to them.<\/p>\n
I know Tony Petitti hates Twitter polls but \u2026 um, 9 percent. pic.twitter.com\/jOqabJwwEU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Because what would they know? They\u2019re only the folks who buy the tickets and deliver the Nielsen ratings that fund the entire enterprise.<\/p>\n We just went through this to some extent with the 76-team NCAA tournament nonsense<\/a>, but the consequences of that one \u2014 a few more mediocre teams get in and the bracket gets clunkier \u2014 are puny compared with the transformation college football is considering.<\/p>\n Doubling the size of the CFP would redefine the entire ethos of the sport. And not in a good way. <\/p>\n What draws tens of millions of people to tune in on fall Saturdays is that\u00a0the regular season matters. You can\u2019t go 9-8 and play for the Super Bowl, or go .500 in your basketball conference and still reach the Final Four. No one rests their superstars for a Week 4 road game like in the NBA. But they might now.<\/p>\n Heck, this is a sport where, as recently as 2023, you could go undefeated and not play for a national title (sorry, Florida State). Now, in what would be the grossest overcorrection in modern sports history, we could go from that to 8-4 teams in the Playoff in the span of four years.<\/p>\n It should come as no surprise that the guy spearheading this whole thing, Petitti, honed his craft as an executive at Major League Baseball, where you can go 83-79 and contend for the World Series.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a classic case of self-preservation. No one is looking out for the larger enterprise, just their own job security. And the worst part is, they\u2019re responding to crises of their creation. They made their conferences too big, so now they need more Playoff berths. They spent so many years and billable hours fighting to prevent players from making money that now even $1 billion-a-year TV contracts aren\u2019t enough to cover the roster.<\/p>\n So they talk themselves into half-cocked justifications like:<\/p>\n 1. \u201cTeams will play tougher nonconference games!\u201d No, they\u2019ll say nine conference games are tough enough to try to finish 9-3.<\/p>\n 2. \u201cSo many more late-season games will be meaningful.\u201d Sure, but they\u2019ll be games between two fourth-place teams rather than No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 5 LSU.<\/p>\n 3. \u201cCoaches will be under less pressure!\u201d Tell that to the 10 NFL coaches (out of 32) who lost their jobs last year, including one who even won a wild-card game.<\/p>\n This is college football\u2019s comet moment.<\/p>\n So, who\u2019s going to stop it?<\/p>\n Very happy to see @brettyormark<\/a> and Jim Phillips speak out in support of the 24-team playoff. This move makes money, makes sense, and is broadly supported by the college football ecosystem. Let\u2019s get it done! https:\/\/t.co\/AjpznqeYNu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cody Campbell (@CodyC64) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Right now, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey appears to be the last one left pointing toward the sky. He, too, wants expansion \u2014 but so far, he\u2019s not ready to go beyond 16. His and Petitti\u2019s conferences gained sole decision-making power over future postseason formats in the new CFP contract that begins this year. And they\u2019ve been locked in a standstill for more than two years.<\/p>\n You may recall that Petitti\u2019s original grand plan was a 16-team CFP, with the Big Ten and SEC each receiving four automatic qualifier berths and the ACC and Big 12 two. Truly no one wanted that, and Sankey delivered the death knell at his league\u2019s annual spring meetings in Destin, Fla., last year, when he revealed his coaches opposed it. There were not enough at-large berths for their mighty teams. The 24-team version would grant just one AQ to the highest Group of 6 team. The entire Big Ten or SEC could theoretically qualify.<\/p>\n The SEC folks return to Destin in a couple of weeks, this time without such unanimity. Several of Sankey\u2019s own constituents \u2014 Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and AD Danny White \u2014 have come out in favor of 24. (Conversely, Texas\u2019s Steve Sarkisian told USA Today on Tuesday it\u2019s a \u201cknee-jerk reaction\u201d and that \u201cWe don\u2019t think about the unintended consequences of decisions we make.\u201d)<\/p>\n If Sankey leaves meetings with the impression that the majority of his ADs and coaches support 24, he\u2019ll likely face increasing pressure to stand down.<\/p>\n \n Greg Sankey wants to keep the Playoff to 16 teams or fewer. (Jordan Godfree \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n But attendees will also hear from other folks with a vested interest: ESPN execs. They make the rounds at all the spring meetings, including the ACC\u2019s earlier this week, where Phillips relayed exactly how the network feels about a giant bracket.<\/p>\n \u201cESPN\u2019s made it clear, they want it to stay at 12 or 14, but no more than 16,\u201d the commissioner told reporters.<\/p>\n Of course, that\u2019s the case. ESPN has been the exclusive CFP rightsholder since the CFP\u2019s 2014 inception and just signed an extension through 2031-32. But that deal only covers a field up to 14 teams. Any games above that \u2014 in this case, 10 of them \u2014 can go to the open market. Hence why Fox\u2019s Shanks is such a big fan of 24.<\/p>\n Industry folks believe Sankey\u2019s stance goes hand in hand with that of his league\u2019s most important partner. Imagine telling ESPN you want to renegotiate your TV contract (which runs through 2034) to take\u00a0less money because you\u2019ve decided to cancel your most-watched game of the year (the SEC championship). Oh, and all those games you show in September and October will have considerably lower stakes.<\/p>\n How would Mario Cristobal change the college football postseason? <\/p>\n -Finish the season earlier. One bye week then start games. “I’m not for the 24 team thing, that’s a lot. Why play a regular season then? And I’m certianly not for automatic bids.” https:\/\/t.co\/ChmBdEMsFt<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/rpxxO0tafg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n All told, the four conferences would collectively lose an estimated $250 million a year if they ended their championship games. Surely they must have hard and fast data showing that those 10 CFP games would be insanely valuable to make that trade.<\/p>\n Well, not exactly.<\/p>\n Industry sources say the CFP\u2019s media consultants are only now beginning that process. Any wildly optimistic projections floating around the Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton this week were as sound as that Utah professor who told the former Pac-12 they should ask for $50 million per team. Note that ESPN currently sublicenses half its first-round games to TNT. The new ones would feature lower-ranked teams.<\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s not the coaches, the ADs, or even the commissioners who get the final word on this thing. Every school president has to sign off on it. The size of a football playoff is not exactly the top priority on most of their agendas these days, and they might not even be paying much attention to the topic.<\/p>\n So if you\u2019re one of the 90 percent who think this is madness, who is as concerned as I am about a bunch of short-sighted administrators robbing college football of its soul, email your favorite school\u2019s president or chancellor. Voice your concerns. Let them know how much this matters to you.<\/p>\n Because right now the comet is hurtling on a direct path to destroy the greatest regular season in sports, and no one is listening.<\/p>\n I love college football. I\u2019m good with 12 team playoff. I think that\u2019s a really good number. Having a 24 team playoff is gross.<\/p>\n \u2014 Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Greg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USATSI_26639053-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
-Do NOT expand to 24 teams. <\/p>\n