The College Football Playoff has formally opened discussions with ESPN over the possible creation of a 24-team postseason field.

The CFP Management Committee confirmed that it continued to examine the proposal during a meeting at the Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois, on Wednesday. A 30-day negotiating window with ESPN closes on 9th October, after which commissioners will decide whether the model warrants further development. No agreement has been reached as yet and the CFP stressed that entering media-rights talks does not commit it to expansion.

“Earlier this month, the CFP announced it would continue its evaluation of potential expansion to 24 teams by opening a media rights discussion with ESPN,” its official update said. “The discussions remain confidential, and no decision or commitment to expand has been made. The negotiating window closes on October 9th and next steps will be determined based on everything gathered and assessed during that time.”

Moving to 24 teams would double the current field and represent another substantial reshaping of a competition that operated with four participants from 2014 until its first expansion. ESPN holds the CFP’s media rights and any additional knock-out round would create more nationally televised games while also requiring agreement over scheduling, venues and the treatment of conference champions and at-large selections. A field of that size would also extend the postseason demands placed upon teams already navigating conference championship games and a regular season that may run to 12 or 13 fixtures. Depending upon the eventual format, the national champion could face a schedule approaching the length of an NFL regular season.

While those competitive and welfare questions remain unresolved, the CFP is also yet to announced how 24 places would be allocated, whether leading teams would receive byes, how many games would be staged on campuses or when an additional round would fit into the calendar. The talks allow the commissioners to establish what ESPN would pay for a larger competition before deciding whether the sporting and logistical compromises are acceptable, and the Management Committee may hold further meetings before its next scheduled gathering on 24th January. A separate deadline of 1st December has been set for approving format changes for the 2027-28 season, leaving relatively little time to progress from exploratory broadcast discussions to an agreed structure.

The possibility of another expansion arrives as conferences continue to pursue greater access and revenue from the postseason. A 24-team field would provide more opportunities for teams outside the leading leagues, but the allocation formula could still concentrate the majority of places among the wealthiest conferences. It would also alter the importance of the regular season — a subject that continues to divide the college football firmament. Supporters of expansion argue that more programmes would remain in contention deeper into the year and that conference runners-up would receive a route to the championship, while critics question how far the field can grow before defeats that once ended a title challenge carry substantially less consequence.

The CFP has already introduced another change for this season’s Selection Day. The three highest seeds will choose their preferred bowl path in ranking order, with the #1 team given 15 minutes and the next two allotted ten minutes each. The bracket will not be reseeded after those choices.