'Handshake agreement' with ESPN brings college football closer to a 24-team playoff, AP source says

Yahoo Sports · 10/16/2026, 11:54:17 PM

College football moved closer to a 24-team postseason after securing what a person familiar with the negotiations called a “handshake agreement” between the College Football Playoff and broadcast partner ESPN that would make up for the nine-figure sums the major conferences would lose by getting rid of their title games. The person told The Associated Press on Friday that the framework of the deal to expand starting next season had been reached but that many details and an official contract rema