Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - Printable Version

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Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - BostonCard - 10-16-2026

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/50198507/espn-lands-handshake-agreement-air-24-team-cfp

Never mind that it could mean that some players would play up to 18 games (12 regular season games, a conference championship, and then five rounds of playoff games if they don’t get a first round bye), this was what got it done:

Quote:Also on Friday, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel that the average additional payment that ESPN will pay for the expanded playoff is $345 million annually for the next five years. That is in addition to the average of $1.3 billion annually over that time ESPN is already paying.

BC

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On further read, thank goodness, the maximum a player could play is only 17 games, since they are doing away with conference championship games.

BC

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - newguy - 10-16-2026

i think 17 games is too much to ask of our lads, what with being on the quarter system and all.
i'm now deeply concerned.

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - 82lsju - 10-16-2026

how long until a 32 team playoff????  2-3 years????

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - newguy - 10-16-2026

(10-16-2026, 09:12 PM)82lsju Wrote:  how long until a 32 team playoff????  2-3 years????

January Madness!!

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - Hieronymus - 10-16-2026

At some point why play a regular season? Let’s just start a tournament day 1. 138 teams. Have 20 play in to get down to 128. Take 16 groups of 8. Top of 2 in the group advance to a 32 team single elimination bracket. Basically World Cup college football style. Bleep tradition. Bleep rivalries. Bleep conferences. nobody plays more than 13 games and realistically 12. Setup the groups and brackets by geography to curtail the travel madness. And cash the check baby.

Top 3 if you want to go 48 teams - 16 byes in the first knockout round - instead.

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - martyup - 10-16-2026

Unfortunately, Stanford doesn't have to worry about an expanded playoff bracket.

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - norcard10 - 10-16-2026

(10-16-2026, 08:24 PM)newguy Wrote:  i think 17 games is too much to ask of our lads, what with being on the quarter system and all.
i'm now deeply concerned.

I don't think you'll have to worry about this.  Pretty sure this team will be playing 12 games for the foreseeable future. Maybe less even if they continue trotting out what we formerly know as a football team.

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - BostonCard - 10-17-2026

(10-16-2026, 11:48 PM)norcard10 Wrote:  

(10-16-2026, 08:24 PM)newguy Wrote:  i think 17 games is too much to ask of our lads, what with being on the quarter system and all.
i'm now deeply concerned.

I don't think you'll have to worry about this.  Pretty sure this team will be playing 12 games for the foreseeable future.  Maybe less even if they continue trotting out what we formerly know as a football team.

Sometimes deadpan irony is not fully conveyed in this medium.

BC

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RE: Handshake agreement for 24-team playoff - Mick - 10-17-2026

(10-16-2026, 09:32 PM)Hieronymus Wrote:  At some point why play a regular season? Let’s just start a tournament day 1. 138 teams. Have 20 play in to get down to 128. Take 16 groups of 8. Top of 2 in the group advance to a 32 team single elimination bracket. Basically World Cup college football style. Bleep tradition. Bleep rivalries. Bleep conferences. nobody plays more than 13 games and realistically 12. Setup the groups and brackets by geography to curtail the travel madness. And cash the check baby.

Top 3 if you want to go 48 teams - 16 byes in the first knockout round - instead.

I know you meant this as a joke, but I suggested this about 15 years ago. First five games determines playoff seeding. After that, the remaining seven games are standard single elimination -- loser plays loser, winner plays winner.

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Hieronymus - Hieronymus - 10-17-2026

(10-17-2026, 08:15 AM)Mick Wrote:  

(10-16-2026, 09:32 PM)Hieronymus Wrote:  At some point why play a regular season? Let’s just start a tournament day 1. 138 teams. Have 20 play in to get down to 128. Take 16 groups of 8. Top of 2 in the group advance to a 32 team single elimination bracket. Basically World Cup college football style. Bleep tradition. Bleep rivalries. Bleep conferences. nobody plays more than 13 games and realistically 12. Setup the groups and brackets by geography to curtail the travel madness. And cash the check baby.

Top 3 if you want to go 48 teams - 16 byes in the first knockout round - instead.

I know you meant this as a joke, but I suggested this about 15 years ago. First five games determines playoff seeding. After that, the remaining seven games are standard single elimination -- loser plays loser, winner plays winner.

I am actually serious as well at this point despite the wise-ass tone. Something like this would solve a lot of current problems and likely increase revenue. It would kill off the bowls finally. And conferences. But they are both mostly croaking or not worth saving anyway. I suppose you could brand a bunch of the knockout games with existing bowl games extending the current playoffs model You might even be able to resurrect a few rivalries as well.

So yeah I am with you and all in on this.

The one big controversy would be creating and adjusting over time the groups for pool play.

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