What happened: ESPN and the College Football Playoff have reached a preliminary agreement on a 24-team playoff format targeted for 2027, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. Under the proposed terms, ESPN would pay an additional $345 million annually over five years on top of its existing $1.3 billion annual commitment through 2031-32. Canceling the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 championship games would return $140 million per year to ESPN, reducing its net new outlay to $205 million annually, while Fox would recoup roughly $50 million per year from the elimination of the Big Ten title game.

Why it matters: Eliminating conference championship games removes two of the sport's premier television properties to clear calendar space and funding for an expanded postseason as schools look to offset $30 million to $40 million roster budgets. The proposed 24-team bracket would grant automatic bids to the four power conference regular-season champions and the top Group of Six program, alongside 19 committee selections. The top eight seeds would receive first-round byes, with the opening two rounds hosted on campus sites.

What to watch: Negotiations between the CFP and ESPN remain ongoing as conference leaders work to finalize a binding contract and resolve remaining format and media-rights details ahead of the proposed 2027 launch.