College -Football Playoff format for the next season in the balance when the commissioners make the sowing changes

Dallas -The format for this year's College Football playoff remains in the floating.

Maybe it can be solved with a familiar thing: money.

At a meeting here on Tuesday, Playoff executives asked changes in the 2025 post season, but did not make a decision on a proposal from the big ten and the SEC to change the playoff.

In later interviews, conference commissioners need more data before you have decided to switch to a “straight seeding” model that would eliminate the automatic byes of the first round, which are assigned to the four best rated conference champions Shifting of big ten and SEC managers, however, support a step that unanimously from the CFP management committee (the 10 FBS Conference Commissioners and Notre Dame's Sportd Director).

However, a financial compromise was discussed in the eleven -member group on Tuesday, and several people with knowledge of the conversations said Yahoo Sports. In the current 12-team format, the four top seeds and the first round-bydes four are reserved four most rated conference champions. Each of these teams automatically earns $ 8 million as part of the performance-based sales model of the CFP. You will receive 4 million US dollars for qualifying for the event and another 4 million US dollars for promotion to the quarter -finals.

The discussion is the possibility of the four best rated conference champions who continue to earn these additional income, even though they have not received a top four sowing and bye in the first round.

Is it enough to influence the room to change the sowing? Maybe, but this puzzle still has a piece. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 -Commissioner Brett Yormark believe that changes to Playoffs 2025 in 2026 are tied to potential changes.

The Playoff 2026 begins a new six -year contract with ESPN, in which the sec and big ten gain control of all format changes.

“You have to look at it as a whole,” said Phillips about Playoff format 2025 and the 2026-2031 format. “It is a contract that comes to an end and a new cycle. These things have a bit link. “

Phillips and Yormark as well as the group of six commissioners benefit from the automatic byes for the four best rated conference champions, and many of them have spoken publicly that they would not be entitled to vote without compromise. “

However, it is not necessary unanimously from 2026. Can there also be a compromise there?

Yormark said that changes in 2025 set the tone for changes in 2026 and beyond. “You can't look at them in an end,” he added.

During the session on Tuesday, the members of the committee, on the whole, discussed a 14 or 16 team format, the Big Ten and SEC leaders, which would assign individual conferences up to four- several automatic qualifications from 2026. to four-.

The 14-team format “4-4-2-2-1+1” at most among the leagues-dignity four automatic places for the big ten and sec, two for the Big 12 and one for the group of, Grant six plus a large bid for emergency lady if it was high enough in the ranking. The response to the format in both past spring and last week has produced a visceral reaction from some within the university sports community.

Asked about this format on Tuesday, Phillips believes that the commissioners should be “mindful” as the “guardian of the game” when determining a new format.

“For all of us it was someone in front of us and it will be someone after us,” he said. “They have to serve their voters, but they cannot be completely unsuspecting and are not aware of what is good for college football and fans and what they hear from them.”

Every decision – or a deep discussion – about the format for 2026 and beyond is probably reserved for later this spring.

With regard to 2025 changes, the committee members commissioned the CFP employees with the generation of research and data so that they can make an “informed” decision about any change, said Executive Director Rich Clark. “It is important that we are now making these decisions for 2025 because they have an impact on what happens in 2026 and beyond,” he said and connected the two again.

Last week, the Big Ten and the SEC announced after a joint meeting of their sports directors in New Orleans that both support a playoff format “straight seeding” from 2025.

If this happened in the playoffs of the past year, the four best seeds No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Penn State would have been. Arizona State, the No. 4 seed in the current format as a big 12 champions, would have been sown the 12th place. Boise State, the seed No. 3 last year, would have been sown No. 9.

The 8-9 game, for example, would have presented Boise State-Indiana instead of Ohio State Tenne.

Such a change raises many questions, including Notre Dame's situation. The Irish as independent in the current format are not entitled to bye in the first round. The school's sports director, Pete Bevacqua, has said publicly that the Irish should be considered to be bye in the first round if the seeding structure changes.

But money is the heart of a change from the format change from 2025.

As part of the current, performance-based sales model of the playoff, each team earns $ 4 million for the qualification for the CFP, another $ 4 million for playing in the quarter-finals, another $ 6 million for promotion to the semi-finals and 6 Millions of US dollars more for the competition in the title game.

Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State received the automatic payment of $ 8 million last year. Under a change in the “straight sowing”, Oregon, Georgia, Penn State and Texas deserved the $ 8 million.

Will the SEC and BIG TO THE TO THE CONTICAL COMPLEMENT TO THE TO THE FOR THE TO THE TO THE THE COMPLESS COMPLEMENT, even if they are not high enough to get the Byes?

Time will say. Managers are planning another meeting in March, in which the CFP employees will probably connect data to the financial proposal. “There will be a financial model that is part of it,” said Clark.

However, any sales distribution can only be a one -off. As part of the new contract from 2026, there is no power -based distribution model. Instead, each conference earns a basic amount.