College football is getting closer to a 24-team playoff.

And apparently, the only thing standing between the sport and another massive postseason expansion is finishing the paperwork.

The Associated Press reported Friday that College Football Playoff officials and broadcast partner ESPN have reached what a source familiar with the negotiations described as a preliminary financial agreement.

The proposed arrangement would help compensate conferences for the revenue they stand to lose by eliminating their championship games.

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According to ESPN's reporting, the network would pay an average of approximately $345 million annually in additional rights fees over six years.

That's on top of the existing six-year, $7.8 billion television agreement.

Not exactly pocket change.

The proposed expansion would begin with the 2027 season, doubling the current 12-team field to 24.

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But before everybody starts celebrating the possibility of even more December football, one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of the sport has a problem with the plan.

Nick Saban.

And he isn't particularly interested in pretending this is all about creating better competition.

Saban Thinks 16 Teams Is Enough
Appearing Friday on The Pat McAfee Show, Saban made it clear that he supports expanding the playoff.

Just not to 24 teams.

The former Alabama coach believes 16 would be a more reasonable compromise.

He also suggested retaining conference championship games and potentially using them as play-in opportunities.

Under that general approach, approximately 20 teams could remain involved in the championship conversation heading into conference championship weekend.

That's an interesting alternative.

Instead of eliminating conference title games to accommodate a larger playoff, Saban wants to preserve those championships while expanding postseason access.

And there's something to be said for that.

Conference championships have traditionally meant something in college football.

Winning the SEC isn't supposed to be the equivalent of receiving a participation certificate.

Neither is winning the Big Ten.

Those are accomplishments that programs spend entire seasons pursuing.

But under the proposed 24-team structure, those championship games could disappear.

And Saban believes the financial motivation behind expansion is pretty obvious.

"The bottom line is money," he said Friday.

He's not wrong. CBS Sports

The Money Is Becoming Impossible to Ignore
Here's what changed Friday evening.

The financial negotiations appear to have crossed an important threshold.

According to Associated Press national writer Eddie Pells, a person familiar with the discussions confirmed that the parties have established a preliminary framework for compensating conferences under the expanded postseason.

The agreement hasn't been finalized.

There are still contractual details to resolve.

And the 24-team format hasn't received final approval.

But the reported financial framework addresses one of the biggest obstacles to expansion.

Conference championship games generate enormous revenue.

The SEC Championship alone represents a substantial annual television property.

Eliminating those games means conferences need to replace the money.

Otherwise, commissioners would be asking their members to surrender valuable television inventory without sufficient compensation.

That's a difficult sell.

The reported ESPN agreement would help solve that problem.

And suddenly, the 24-team playoff looks considerably more likely.

That's a meaningful development beyond Thursday's reporting that negotiations were simply nearing completion.

Here's How the Proposed Format Would Work
The framework currently being discussed includes 24 teams.

The four Power Four conference champions would receive automatic bids.

The highest-ranked Group of Six champion would also receive an automatic invitation.

The remaining 19 positions would be determined through at-large selections.

The top eight seeds would receive first-round byes.

Teams seeded ninth through 24th would compete in opening-round games on campus.

The winners would then advance to face the top eight seeds, with those games also played on campus.

The traditional major bowls would continue hosting the quarterfinals and semifinals.

That's a lot of football.

And some of it sounds fantastic.

Playoff games on college campuses are one of the best developments the sport has introduced.

Give me a December playoff game in Bloomington, Columbus, Tuscaloosa, or Athens over another neutral-site game any day.

But there's a difference between expanding meaningful postseason opportunities and simply adding more games because television networks are willing to pay for them.

That's where the debate gets interesting.

What Happens to the Regular Season?
This is where I share Saban's concerns.

College football's regular season has traditionally mattered more than almost any other regular season in American sports.

A September loss could change everything.

A November rivalry game could determine whether a team competed for a national championship.

And conference championships represented major accomplishments.

Now we're discussing a system where nearly every team ranked in the final Top 25 could receive a playoff invitation.

That's a significant change.

Imagine an SEC team finishing fourth or fifth in its conference and still entering the postseason with a realistic championship opportunity.

Some people will love that.

It keeps more fan bases interested.

It creates additional television matchups.

And it reduces the chances of a talented team being excluded because of one bad performance.

Those are legitimate benefits.

But there's also a cost.

If three or four losses no longer eliminate a traditional powerhouse, those regular-season losses carry different consequences.

The games will still matter.

Rivalries will still matter.

But pretending the stakes won't change is ridiculous.

The Players Are Getting Another Demanding Postseason
Saban also raised concerns about the demands being placed on college athletes.

And that deserves more attention.

College football players already deal with demanding schedules.

They're balancing academics, practices, travel, physical recovery, and increasingly complicated financial arrangements.

Now the sport wants to expand the postseason again.

To be fair, eliminating conference championship games could offset some of the additional workload for certain teams.

A 24-team playoff wouldn't automatically mean every participant plays more games than under the current format.

But it would extend championship competition to more teams and require additional scheduling coordination.

And the conversation shouldn't simply end with whether broadcasters can afford the additional games.

Player health and recovery deserve consideration too.

Saban's Proposal Deserves a Serious Look
I don't agree with everything Saban says about college football.

But his suggested compromise deserves consideration.

A 16-team playoff would provide additional access without doubling the current field.

Retaining conference championship games would preserve meaningful achievements.

And the postseason would remain selective enough that qualifying still represented something significant.

There are complications.

Using conference championship games as play-ins would require carefully designed qualification rules.

The format would need to protect deserving teams that lose close championship games.

And the conferences would still need to agree on revenue distribution.

Saban hasn't presented a complete operational blueprint.

But he's asking the right questions.

College Football Is About to Make a Huge Decision
The reported financial agreement is a major step.

But it's not the final step.

The College Football Playoff still needs to approve the format and finalize the broadcast arrangements.

The December 1 deadline for changes beginning in 2027 remains important.

And until the necessary agreements are completed, the current 12-team system remains in place.

But Friday's development makes the direction increasingly obvious.

College football is moving toward a much larger postseason.

Saban wants the sport to consider whether 16 teams would provide a better balance.

That's a debate worth having.

Because once conference championship games disappear and the playoff expands to 24 teams, reversing course won't be easy.

Maybe the expanded tournament will be spectacular.

Maybe the additional games will produce unforgettable moments.

But the people making this decision should remember something.

College football became enormously popular long before anyone proposed a 24-team playoff.

And there's a reason for that.

The games mattered.

The rivalries mattered.

And championships were difficult to earn.

More football isn't automatically better football.

Even when somebody is willing to pay another $345 million a year for it.

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