October 15, 2026 - 6:57 pm

The College Football Playoff field is expected to double in size from 12 to 24 teams for the 2027 college football season, according to an ESPN report, leading to numerous schedule changes. The deal has not been finalized but is expected to be done in the near future, the report noted.

As part of the playoff expansion, there will be 19 at-large bids, one bid for each Power 4 conference champion, as determined by each conference, and one guaranteed Group of 6 team. The CFP moved from four teams to 12 teams starting in the 2024 season.

The Power 4 conference championship games would be eliminated, and the season would start a week earlier as part of the expansion, the report said.

The CFP and ESPN have been negotiating a new broadcast rights deal to determine the value of the larger field. In 2024, ESPN and the CFP entered into a $7.8 billion deal, which guaranteed the playoff games to be held on the network through the 2031-32 season. The new deal is expected to be worth north of an additional $300 million, according to the Athletic.

The CFP issued a statement on the potential move from 12 to 24 teams.

“Constructive discussions with ESPN continued this week,” The CFP’s statement read. “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with ESPN since our inception and are appreciative of the productive dialogue we have had throughout the negotiating period and continuing over the last several days. We will provide additional updates on the matters of future format and media rights when appropriate.”

With more teams qualifying for the playoff, some bowl games could be at risk of being eliminated. There’s also the potential to move bowl games to the start of the season as showcase games, according to an ON3 report.

John Saccenti, executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl, said it’s still too early to know how an expanding playoff field would affect the annual event, but talks have been held regarding the future of the game.

“There will still be bowl games,” Saccenti said in a text. “There’s still a desire from TV, conferences and schools to have bowl games. We’ve been in discussion with TV and the conferences (the) last few months and will now ramp up those discussions now that CFP has expanded.”

This year’s 35th annual Las Vegas Bowl is slated to take place on New Year’s Eve at Allegiant Stadium, featuring an SEC team and an opponent from either the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Oregon State, and will be televised on ESPN.

This year’s CFP national championship will be held on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium.

Las Vegas has been hosting annual showcase neutral-site games to begin seasons at Allegiant Stadium dubbed the Vegas Kickoff Classic, which are managed by the Las Vegas Bowl and ESPN Events. Next season’s Vegas Kickoff Classic will feature Miami vs. Utah and North Dakota State against Montana State. The next Vegas Kickoff Classic is scheduled for 2029, where Montana and South Dakota State will play.

The Mountain West Conference didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the Review-Journal as to whether the conference’s championship game would continue to be staged if the expansion is made official. UNLV didn’t offer a comment on the potential playoff expansion.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.