College Football Playoff Expansion Leaves Broadcast Opportunities on the Sidelines

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A handshake agreement. That’s the term I saw all weekend regarding the College Football Playoff expanding from 12 teams to 24 beginning next year, with ESPN remaining the sole rights holder. There are positives and negatives to the reported deal, and it was refreshing to heardiscourse on both sides of the argument across ESPN’s networks this weekend. That’s something college football fans didn’t get with the network’s coverage of the Protect College Sports Act.

However, in the end, ESPN owns all the goods. Again. The network has been the exclusive rights holder since the playoff began just 12 years ago. Fans can debate whether expanding the playoff to 24 teams will diminish the weekly must-win stakes of college football or lead to the elimination of conference championship games for major conferences. One thing remains clear: ESPN controls the entire package. That raises a question: If the sport wants to expand on the field, why can’t it expand how those games are broadcast?

The old saying goes, “Follow the money.” After signing a six-year, $7.8 billion exclusive extension in 2024, ESPN received an exclusive 30-day window to negotiate with the College Football Playoff over expansion. That window expired, but a handshake agreement was reportedly reached in the days that followed.

As a result, FOX Sports, CBS Sports/TNT Sports/Skydance, NBC Sports, and others never had an opportunity to compete for the expanded package during that window. Has ESPN dominated college football coverage for generations? Of course. Is watching College GameDay part of the average fan’s Saturday routine during the fall? Absolutely.

But imagine if the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL handled their biggest events the same way. Imagine if Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady were left out of the NFL’s biggest games. What if Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk never got the opportunity to call the Stanley Cup Final?

That’s the kind of opportunity the College Football Playoff could be taking away with this expansion. No Gus Johnson or Joel Klatt calling the sport’s biggest games. No Brad Nessler and Charles Davis entertaining the audience.

Is that good for college football? No, it’s not.

Missed Opportunity

There are still specifics to work out. For instance, ESPN and TNT Sports have a sublicensing agreement that allows TNT Sports to broadcast select College Football Playoff games. That arrangement began in 2024 and currently runs through 2028. Now that Skydance owns both CBS Sports and TNT Sports, could those games move to CBS Sports beginning next year? Possibly. That could create an opportunity for Nessler and Davis to call a playoff game in the near future.

Who knows?

Regardless, what’s puzzling about this deal is the question of inclusion. The expansion will affect conference championships and change the significance of regular-season losses. At the same time, it will give more teams a seat at the table by expanding access to the playoff.

More teams mean more games. So why not more networks? Why not give other television partners an opportunity to help grow the playoff by introducing it to different audiences and offering fans more broadcast options? Instead of allowing ESPN to control who gets what by arranging sub-license agreements. That doesn’t benefit the playoff by only working alongside one broadcast partner.

ESPN is reportedly paying roughly $345 million more for the additional games on top of the approximately $1.3 billion it already pays each season. The network also recoups some of its investment through its sublicensing agreement with TNT Sports and could save money if several conference championship games are eliminated from its schedule.

If the additional rights cost $345 million for roughly six more games, did the College Football Playoff miss an opportunity to spark a bidding war? In all likelihood, would FOX, CBS/TNT/Skydance, CW, or NBC come to the table with more than that figure? More than likely yes, but we’ll never know.

More Games, One Place

Don’t get me wrong. ESPN delivers a quality college football product. I don’t blame the network for paying for the right to negotiate first and taking advantage of that privilege. This isn’t about ESPN. It’s about the concept of inclusion if the playoff wants true expansion on all fronts.

Expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams will give more programs a chance to compete for a national championship. But the sport is missing a golden opportunity to expand something else just as important: the voices bringing those games to life. More teams and games should create more opportunities for the networks and broadcasters who have helped build the sport’s popularity.

Instead, the College Football Playoff appears content to keep those broadcast opportunities largely within the same walls. I’m sorry, but inclusion shouldn’t stop with the teams on the field.

If college football is willing to expand its playoff to give more programs a seat at the table, it should also be willing to broaden its broadcast partnerships. Doing so would give fans a wider selection of voices, perspectives and personalities calling the biggest games of the season.

The sport is expanding its postseason. It’s time to expand the audience’s experience with it.

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