College Football Playoff Expansion Talks Hit Another Wall as Deadline Looms
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - With the clock ticking and the stakes rising, College Football Playoff (CFP) leaders once again walked away from the negotiating table without a deal in place to expand the postseason beyond 12 teams for next season. After more than three hours of meetings on Sunday, the group left the beachside hotel with the same unanswered question: Will the field grow, or is 12 the number - at least for now?
The CFP management committee, made up of 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director, couldn’t reach a consensus on how - or even whether - to expand the format. And with a firm deadline looming at the end of the week, the odds are growing that the 12-team structure we saw this season will carry over into next year.
“Still more work to be done,” said Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who offered the comment while briskly moving past reporters, sporting a pair of Indiana-colored Nike sneakers - a subtle nod to the team playing for the national title Monday night.
That title game, by the way, is a fitting backdrop to all this. It features No. 1 seed Indiana of the Big Ten taking on No. 10 seed Miami from the ACC - a matchup that underscores just how much the current format has already shifted the balance of power and opportunity across the sport.
The CFP has until Friday to inform ESPN of its plans for next season. That’s already an extension from the original December 1 deadline, and according to executive director Rich Clark, there won’t be another lifeline.
“They made it clear that this is the last, the one and only extension,” Clark said.
Big Ten, SEC Holding the Cards
At the heart of the stalemate are the two conferences with the most influence - and the most money on the line. The Big Ten and SEC are pulling in different directions, and until they align, expansion remains stuck in neutral.
“There’s two commissioners that very much drive how this ship goes,” said MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, without naming names. But it’s no secret he’s referring to Petitti (Big Ten) and Greg Sankey (SEC).
The SEC is pushing for a 16-team playoff, with minimal automatic qualifiers - a model that favors powerhouse programs and deep leagues. The Big Ten, meanwhile, floated a bold 24-team proposal. That plan would take time to implement, possibly requiring conferences to scrap their league championship games to make room on the calendar.
Most of the other conferences are on board with a 16-team format for 2026. But the Big Ten is hesitant to lock in that structure for the full length of the new six-year, $7.8 billion contract with ESPN. Their concern: committing now could close the door on future, more ambitious expansion.
White House Enters the Chat
Adding an unexpected wrinkle to the discussion, President Trump weighed in Saturday night, pledging to protect the traditional Army-Navy game from any potential CFP scheduling conflicts. He said he would sign an executive order to preserve that second Saturday in December window, which could be impacted if more playoff games are added.
“They weren’t in contact with us about that,” Clark said. “We saw it and understand where the administration’s position is.”
What Happens If Expansion Stalls?
If the conferences can’t come to an agreement by Friday, the 12-team format will simply roll over into next season. That doesn’t mean expansion is off the table - it just pushes the conversation into next year, with the next decision point coming by December 1 for changes in 2027 and beyond.
Even if the structure stays the same, one key tweak is already baked into the new contract: automatic bids for the champions of the Power 4 conferences - the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC - replacing the previous setup that guaranteed spots to the five highest-ranked conference champions. The top-ranked Group of 5 champion will still get a seat at the table.
That change is significant. This season, ACC champion Duke was left out of the playoff because the selection committee didn’t rank them high enough. That opened the door for two Group of 5 teams - Tulane (American Conference) and James Madison (Sun Belt) - to claim the final two spots in the bracket.
The new deal also gives Notre Dame a clearer path. If the independent Fighting Irish are ranked in the final top 12, they’re in. This year, they were No. 11 but still missed the cut as an at-large.
Follow the Money
One of the most telling shifts in this new era of the CFP is how the money is being split. For the first time, the Big Ten and SEC will receive a significantly larger slice of the revenue pie - around $21 million per school annually - from the six-year deal with ESPN. That’s a stark contrast to the more equal revenue-sharing model of the past and reflects the current power dynamic in college football.
Still No Clarity
Sunday’s meeting followed the usual CFP script: Power 4 commissioners met separately first, then joined the full 11-person committee, and finally brought in the university presidents and chancellors - the board of managers - for the final 90 minutes. Roughly two dozen people were in the room, and by the time they walked out, the future of the Playoff was still up in the air.
“Well, there are a lot of reasons to look at expanding,” said Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, who chairs the board of managers. “The reason we went from four to 12 was to give more teams and more student-athletes a shot at competing for a national title.”
That mission hasn’t changed. But the path forward remains tangled in competing interests, long-term contracts, and the ever-present tug-of-war between tradition and progress.
As American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti put it: “I think that’s up to two people in the room.”
And until those two agree, college football’s postseason future stays in limbo.