College Football Playoff Expands to 24 Teams Beginning in 2027

College football is changing its postseason again. After just three years with a twelve-team playoff, the field will double to 24, according to FOXNews.com.

The television arrangement has an earlier foundation. Forbes reported that the new rights agreement builds on the six-year deal ESPN and the College Football Playoff announced in 2024.

On November 9, 2026, NBC News reported that the College Football Playoff would expand to 24 teams in 2027. That puts the change one season away.

The expansion also removes a familiar part of the schedule. CBS Sports reported on November 9 that conference championship games will be eliminated beginning in 2027.

An Associated Press report carried by KYTV described the move as ending a three-decade era of conference title games, once among the season's marquee events.

The same day's coverage established the television partner for the additional games. Variety Movies reported that ESPN had secured the rights, while Forbes said the agreement runs through the 2031-32 season.

The expansion is announced, not merely proposed. The 2027 start date and the elimination of conference championship games are the central changes reported by NBC News and CBS Sports.

ESPN is the exclusive rights holder for the new games, according to ESPN. That distinction matters: the agreement covers the additional playoff inventory created by expansion and builds on an existing media deal.

The supplied coverage does not detail how teams will qualify, how the bracket will work or where the additional games will sit on the calendar. Those are the practical questions still unanswered here as the 2027 start approaches.

CBS Sports also identified implications for the Heisman Trophy, but its supplied summary does not explain them. The effect on that award should not yet be described more specifically.