A holy war might be brewing between ESPN and Fox Sports.
The College Football Playoff governance committee is meeting this week in Dallas to address a whole host of topics facing the sport’s postseason. And as has been the case for much of the past decade, playoff expansion will be at the forefront of discussion.
No final decision is expected from this week’s meetings, but that doesn’t mean the myriad competing stakeholders aren’t making their preferences known through media leaks. On Tuesday, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger issued a report chock-full of nuggets about the state of play in college football, particularly regarding the sport’s postseason. In the report, Dellenger outlines growing support for a 24-team playoff format among “at least three of the four power conference commissioners” and Notre Dame.
One can surmise that the lone holdout is the SEC. The conference’s commissioner, Greg Sankey, has been outspoken in his opposition to a 24-team playoff, especially given that such an expansion would likely eliminate conference championships, a game the SEC holds dear and is valued at around $80 million annually. Sankey has previously voiced support for a 16-team playoff format that would preserve conference championship weekend and, in his estimation, maintain the value of the regular season.
The SEC’s exclusive media rights partner, ESPN, appears to be on the same page. Per Dellenger, “ESPN executives have privately dismissed the notion (of a 24-team playoff).” ESPN currently holds broadcast rights for each game in the 12-team format through 2032, a portion of which it has sublicensed to TNT. According to prior reports, ESPN is contractually awarded all playoff games up to a 14-team format. However, if expansion extends beyond 14-teams, which seems destined to happen, those additional games could hit the open market.
That would explain why a network like Fox is publicly pushing for expansion to 24 teams. Last week, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks expressed support for a 24-team format, which would align with the Big Ten’s preferences. Fox, of course, owns a controlling stake in the Big Ten Network and possesses the lead Big Ten broadcast package. A 24-team format would provide Fox a potential path to broadcasting playoff games. As it stands, Fox’s college football season, aside from the Holiday Bowl, ends on Thanksgiving weekend.
ESPN would certainly enjoy keeping the entire College Football Playoff for itself, which is why the network would be privately opposed to expansion.
Ultimately, the Big Ten and SEC hold all of the power. Both conferences must agree on a new format before it is implemented, per the memorandum of understanding each FBS conference and Notre Dame signed in 2024. But behind the scenes, Fox and ESPN, aligned with their own conferences, will throw their weight around too.
If there’s been one truism in college sports recently, it’s that money almost always wins out. If there is more money to be made from a 24-team playoff, which would more than double the amount of games versus the current 12-team format, then it’s a safe bet that we’ll eventually get there.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.