Go ahead and get used to it now: the debate over expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sitting inside Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea’s office on Wednesday, it wasn’t hard to notice the ongoing chatter that has now once again reared its head.Ever since CFP leaders wrapped meetings in Miami — before Indiana capped an historic season with a national championship — the battle between the SEC and the rest of college football has only intensified, with the most recent gathering taking place just outside of Dallas.COACHES PUSH FOR 24-TEAM CFP, AS COLLEGE FOOTBALL HEADS TOWARDS PARTICIPATION TROPHY TERRITORYAt the center of it all is one question: how big should the playoff field actually be?For months, the SEC has stood firm behind a 16-team format, a model its television partner ESPN supports. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has pushed for 24 teams — an idea that initially drew resistance from the ACC and Big 12 before opinions started to shift.That’s nothing new. Conference commissioners changing positions is practically part of the job. But this time, the stakes are higher. With revenue-sharing challenges mounting across college athletics — and some schools already cutting sports — expanding the playoff has become a potential financial lifeline.More teams mean more games. More games mean more television inventory. And more inventory means more money, maybe.As the new College Football Playoff contract with ESPN starts, which is a six-year deal, there is a number of teams that could essentially trigger additional bidding. According to industry sources, if the CFP were to agree on a 14-team postseason, ESPN would still hold onto its inventory of games, which they could continue sub-licensing out to networks like TNT or TBS.BROADCAST INDUSTRY CEO SAYS CONSOLIDATION IS ‘ESSENTIAL’ TO COMPETE FOR NFL SOARING MEDIA RIGHTS PRICESBut, if CFP leaders were to somehow agree to the 24-team format, or even 16-teams, this would allow networks like FOX, NBC or CBS to join the party if they were willing to pay. This stems from the contract signed by ESPN and the CFP, which would allow the playoff to put the extra games that would come from a 24-team postseason on the market.And while that might be the case, from an economic standpoint, the smarter move would be for ESPN to just purchase the rights to the added games of a 16-team playoff given it might not be worth the price for FOX or NBC to purchase the additional two matchups.Though it’s not hard to see why multiple conferences would be on board.As Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea pointed out this week in Nashville, expansion isn’t as simple as adding more teams.”The first thing that we need to focus on is when we end the season,” Clark Lea told OutKick. “I think we have a real issue right now, and I think the issue is tied to TV contracts and and dedicated time slots where we’re not competing with the NFL, and stuff like that which extends our season three
Exclusive: Clark Lea says college football will have to sacrifice tradition in exchange for CFP expansion
