24-team CFP – Paul Finebaum sharply criticized expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, warning it could undermine the regular season and college football’s identity.
A push to expand the College Football Playoff from its current 12-team format to 24 teams is no longer a sideline idea—it has become one of the most contentious power struggles in college sports, with conference leaders weighing it as a pathway to more television revenue and more postseason access.
Right now, the College Football Playoff is entering its third season using the 12-team model.. The format itself marked a major shift after the sport operated for roughly a decade as a four-team playoff from 2014 through 2023.. Under the current structure. the postseason stretches longer into January. includes first-round games played on campuses. and guarantees automatic bids for conference champions—changes that have already reshaped how the sport builds stakes across the year.
This week. the debate escalated sharply when longtime college football broadcaster Paul Finebaum weighed in on the idea of doubling the field again.. Speaking during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday. Finebaum argued that a 24-team playoff could fundamentally weaken what he sees as the defining value of the college football season: the pressure and uniqueness of the regular schedule.
Finebaum said the idea of moving to a 24-team bracket is “the worst possibility” in the history of the sport.. He warned that such an expansion would “devalue. dilute. and perhaps destroy” what he described as the greatest part of college football—the regular season itself.. In his view. a larger playoff would make the most important late-season games lose urgency. in part because there simply would not be enough teams good enough to give every contender meaningful stakes all the way through.
Supporters of expansion, however, frame the proposal differently.. They argue that more playoff access can increase fan engagement and create more consequential late-season games for programs that might otherwise have their seasons end earlier.. They also contend that additional playoff inventory translates into more financial benefits for schools and conferences.
Conference leadership has been visible in backing the 24-team concept.. The ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips, and the Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark, have both supported the expansion idea.. In addition. the American Football Coaches Association has endorsed expansion while also backing proposals to eliminate conference championship games entirely—an approach that would alter not only postseason size. but the overall calendar and how teams qualify for contention.
Financial incentives sit at the center of why the idea is gaining traction.. More playoff games generally mean more premium television inventory in a sport already drawing substantial viewership.. The 2026 CFP National Championship featuring Indiana and Miami reportedly drew 30.1 million viewers. which was described as the second-most-watched CFP title game ever and the most-watched college football game in 11 years. underscoring how lucrative the current postseason has already become.
Even so. critics argue the sport is nearing a tipping point where growth could come at the cost of what makes Saturdays distinctive.. A 24-team bracket. opponents say. would likely allow multiple teams with three losses to remain in the hunt every season. and possibly even teams with four losses from major conferences.. That shift could change how fans and teams perceive the margin for error in October and November.
For decades. college football’s appeal has been tied to a narrower pathway to a title chase—one upset can be the difference between contending and being eliminated.. The proposal critics warn against would widen that pathway substantially. potentially lowering the value of historic rivalry games and diminishing the weight of early-season results.
Finebaum is not alone in questioning whether expansion has gone too far.. Analysts including Josh Pate and even SEC commissioner Greg Sankey have recently raised concerns about expanding the playoff further.. Sankey was reported to have warned about a “tipping point. ” while Pate characterized it as one of the most unpopular proposals in recent college football history. reflecting how broad the resistance appears beyond traditional traditionalists.
The immediate effects, critics say, could show up in how teams and fans treat regular-season matchups.. With more playoff spots on offer. the urgency of marquee games may decline—particularly when two top-ranked teams face each other in November but both could still be positioned comfortably for an expanded postseason regardless of the outcome.. That could rewire preparation and strategy, as programs might be more willing to take risks early in the schedule.
Some opponents also argue that expansion could influence nonconference scheduling.. If losses carry less long-term penalty. programs may be more inclined to schedule softer opponents. believing that their seasons can absorb setbacks while still keeping a route to the postseason.. In that way, expansion wouldn’t just reshape the postseason—it could alter the composition of the regular schedule itself.
Over the long term, the concern extends beyond competitive balance and into player health and workload.. Critics argue that wearing down athletes is becoming harder to ignore. and that under a 24-team system. some teams could potentially play as many as 16 or 17 games.. That schedule length. opponents note. begins to resemble an NFL workload. but without the same depth in rosters. the structure of NFL contracts. or the recovery resources professional teams typically rely on.
As the debate intensifies. the underlying tension is clear: stakeholders see postseason expansion as both a revenue engine and a way to broaden access. while critics—including Finebaum—warn that the sport could lose the very elements that made it feel uniquely unpredictable and high-stakes.. Misryoum is watching the argument closely as college football’s future hangs on a question that is no longer theoretical: how big should the playoff become before regular season football is no longer the centerpiece?
College Football Playoff 24-team expansion Paul Finebaum SEC commissioner Greg Sankey ACC commissioner Jim Phillips Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark
Finebaum been saying the same stuff for 20 years lol
Wait so they already went from 4 to 12 and now they want 24?? That seems like way too many teams honestly like at that point just let everyone in and call it a day. My husband says its all just about money anyway which I mean yeah obviously.
I actually think this is good for smaller schools because they never get a chance to compete against the big programs and its not fair that Alabama or Georgia always gets picked over everyone else just because of their name. Like let the mid majors prove themselves you know. My cousin went to Appalachian State and they never get respect even when they win their whole conference. The regular season would still matter because you still gotta win games to even get in so I dont really get what Finebaum is even complaining about to be honest. He just likes hearing himself talk on ESPN.
I read that they were actually talking about doing this back when they had the BCS and the schools voted against it then too so its funny how we keep coming back to this same argument every few years. But here is the thing nobody is mentioning, if you have 24 teams playing in January that means players are missing even more school and these are supposed to be student athletes first right. I feel like everyone forgets that part. Also the bowl games are already kind of a mess and adding more playoff rounds is just gonna make the whole thing run into February which conflicts with NFL playoffs and nobody is gonna watch. The ratings are gonna drop and then they will blame the format instead of realizing they overloaded the schedule. Happened with college basketball too when they expanded March Madness and people just stopped caring about the early rounds completely.