The College Football Playoff Is Expanding To 12 Teams, Likely In 2026

The inevitable day has arrived. The College Football Playoff will be tripling in size in the next few years, likely 2026 after the current TV contract expires — though 2024 seemingly remains an option if some hurdles are cleared.

I've never been a proponent of this, but it was bound to happen eventually. With the amount of money being thrown around for regular season TV rights deals currently, there was a roughly 0 percent chance college football decision makers were going to leave a money-making opportunity like this on the table. We've gone from three CFP games to 11; There's no telling what that TV contract is going to look like.

So if you've grown tired of the Alabama and Ohio State Invitational with two other rotating members every season, you will have your fix of a 12-team Playoff soon enough. My only request is this is as large as it gets and we don't end up with Mike Leach's 64-team model by 2040 —  but if 12 is better than four, then it stands to reason 64 is better than 12.

Regardless,  the days of a four-team CFP are officially numbered.