College football decision makers are ready to expand playoff again in 2026: insiders

The already-expanded College Football Playoff could be on pace to expand yet again as soon as two years from now

Almost as soon as college football expanded its playoff from four teams to 12 in a field that will debut this postseason, there was already credible talk that the format could expand again in the near future, with speculation that the playoff could swell to 14 teams. Now, it appears that will become a reality.

Members of the College Football Playoff are expected to approve a plan that will further expand the playoff field from 12 teams to 14 starting in the 2026 postseason, according to multiple reports. ESPN first reported news of the meeting.

Details as to what exactly the field will look like, or what automatic qualifiers, if any, will exist in the new playoff are yet to be established, as the plan remains in his preliminary stages, but the powers that be are of one mind that the field will have to get even larger in the years to come.

That belief was born out of some pressure that reportedly came from ESPN, which has offered the College Football Playoff a deal worth more than $1 billion per year after their existing pact expires at the end of the 2025 season. 

Related: Predicting the 12-team College Football Playoff as spring ball begins

Puck sports business reporter John Ourand revealed that the four-letter network has considered pulling its offer if the CFP didn't present a solid plan for what the playoff format would look like after that date, be it 12 teams or some other number.

That led the College Football Playoff to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan that will likely see the addition of two more teams to the postseason.

And while that plan still has plenty of details to be fleshed out, including how much money will be allocated to what conferences, the current plan appears to be headed for a 14-team playoff starting in 2026.

More: How college football's new playoff will work in 2024

As it stands, the College Football Playoff will feature the five highest-ranked conference champions — with the four highest-ranked getting a first-round bye — and the next seven ranked at-large teams, making up the 12-team field in 2024 and 2025.

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