As the debate over College Football Playoff expansion focuses on whether the postseason tournament should grow to 16 or 24 teams, an idea to find middle ground might illustrate just how far apart both sides remain. The middle-ground proposal is for a 20-team playoff that would replace conference championship games with four “play-in” contests for the final four spots of a 16-team field, according to sources familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity to comment on private conversations.The notion was a surprise to almost everyone on a Monday videoconference of the CFP management committee (made up of 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director), said sources who were on the call. The 20-team format wasn’t on the agenda, and it only came up after one participant inquired about an X post from college football media personality Josh Pate, who wrote on Sunday that the idea was percolating. Discussion of the matter during Monday’s meeting was brief and dismissed, as the agenda instead focused on potential CFP expansion to 16 and 24 teams. But those conversations didn’t advance much, either.The belief is that ESPN — the exclusive broadcast rights holder for CFP and SEC games — could be interested in the 20-team compromise rather than the 24-team model favored by the Big Ten.The 20-team idea was not a new one — it’s one of numerous models the group has seen for more than a year — but it had not been seriously discussed, including at the group’s in-person meeting in Denver in June. It was also considered more of a 16-team hybrid by people aware of it, rather than a 20-team format.Under the idea, the first 12 CFP berths would be guaranteed in some form (by selection committee rankings and/or automatic qualifying spots), while eight additional teams would vie for the final four spots in play-in games. Many specifics remain unclear, but one idea would be to match up play-in teams across conferences, rather than within a conference or based solely on CFP selection committee rankings.However, this concept creates several obstacles.For one, the Big Ten doesn’t like it, which is partly why Monday’s conversation went nowhere. The Big Ten and SEC hold the power to determine the next format and have yet to reach an agreement after more than a year.Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said in May that his league was solely focused on a 24-team model. He reiterated last month the league had moved beyond last year’s 16-team conversation, which could have included intraconference play-in games. Petitti’s selling point on 24 has been increased access to the postseason, as schools spend greater sums on rosters. Despite not having voting power, the ACC and Big 12 have also expressed support for 24 for the same reason.Then there’s the financial aspect. Conference championship games are worth more than $200 million to the conferences in broadcast rights fees, so any additional playoff rounds that replace them would need to more than make up for that amount. A 24-team CFP would naturally have more games to sell than a 20-team model.Which is where ESPN comes in. The network controls the full rights to any CFP up to 14 teams through 2031, and it has already expressed its opposition to large-scale expansion to the conferences. Although ESPN would have the first right to broadcast negotiations for a larger field, some sources with knowledge of the discussions believe the network might not be willing to pay for an entire expanded Playoff. ESPN is already licensing five CFP games to TNT Sports, beginning this season.Fox Sports, which holds the Big Ten broadcast rights, has stated that it prefers a 24-team field and would be interested in acquiring rights for it. The broadcast interest in additional games is there, though it is difficult to project the value of the extra contests without going to market.ESPN holds the rights for the SEC, Big 12 and ACC championship games that would be replaced by an expanded CFP format. Could the network use the money saved from that to buy the handful of new games from a 20-team field and keep the whole thing? That’s at least one theory.But the mood coming out of Monday’s meeting was that a 20-team model will not be taken seriously. The SEC and Big Ten remain far apart.If the two leagues cannot agree on a new format by Dec. 1 (or an extended deadline), the 2027 playoff would maintain the current 12-team model. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said earlier this year that he expected conversations around expansion to continue into the fall before reaching a resolution. After yet another CFP meeting without major decisions, the fall approaches.Aug 11, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms