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College Football Playoff expansion: New CFP media rights fees could be worth more than $2 billion per year
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Much of the conversation surrounding the College Football Playoff expansion is more so based on the average revenue brought in by media rights each season. Just how much could the next deal bring in for the sport in general?
According to Front Office Sports, with the CFP expanding from 4 to 12 teams not later than 2026, the CFP could sign media rights deals with multiple TV partners that would bring its annual revenue to over $2 billion. The CFP’s current exclusive deal with ESPN pays about $470 million per year.
With expansion being finalized in the coming years, FOS is reporting that the expanded Playoff could bring closer to $2.2 billion a year — almost double what the current revenue is for the upcoming season. According to Bob Thompson, the former president of Fox Sports Networks, even $2 billion seems low for how much the new format would bring in on name branding alone.
“I think it will be north of $2 billion. So ($2.2 billion) is possible,” Thompson said in an interview with FOS Tuesday.
Much like the Big Ten Conference, the CFP could be looking to maximize its value by making deals with multiple streaming services. Last month, the Big Ten agreed to terms on a new 7-year media rights agreement with Fox, CBS and NBC that will set to bring in more than $7 billion.
That deal is set to begin starting July 1, 2023.
According to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in an interview on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” the CFP plans to have multiple networks bidding on the deal. No word has been announced with streaming services expected to players for the right to new rights.
Based on the new format, 6 conference champions (the current members of the Power 5 and 1 at-large) will automatically make the CFP. After that, 6 other programs will receive at-large bids to fight for a national title. The top 4 teams will receive a bye while the start of the playoffs will begin on the 4 highest-seed campuses.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Football who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.
