Report: ESPN and the College Football Playoff reach milestone extension

NEWS: ESPN and the College Football Playoff reach milestone extension

Here’s some college football television news: ESPN and the College Football Playoff reached a 6-year, $7.8 billion media rights extension for the upcoming expanded playoff, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.

The deal locks in the 12-team Playoff with ESPN through the 2031-32 season.

Marchand’s report notes that “The full contract’s completion is still contingent on CFP leaders finalizing details of the expanded format in the wake of the implosion of the Pac-12. The CFP’s management committee and board of managers have meetings scheduled for next week and continue to work through the complicated process of settling their outstanding issues.”

Related: Where Wisconsin football stands in 2024 transfer portal team class rankings

There is a lot still to be decided, including the possible involvement of the Big Ten’s television partners FOX, CBS and NBC. But taken at face value, this deal is for 11 football games each year, or $118 million per game.

Football is indeed king, whether it’s college or professional. But these massive dollar amounts continue to increase while the state of college athletics and amateurism remains in flux. Things will still look a lot different when this contract expires in the early 2030s.

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