College Football Playoff leaders voted Tuesday to trigger a 30-day exclusive negotiating window with ESPN to discuss an expanded format and how much a 24-team field could be worth.“This does not represent a decision or commitment to expand, but rather an opportunity to engage with ESPN and gather additional information to help determine a path forward,” the CFP said in a statement.The CFP’s decision alone does not immediately open the negotiating window. ESPN must receive an official notification letter to start the 30-day window. ESPN declined to comment.Opening the exclusive negotiating window with a rights holder is a significant step toward Playoff expansion and a strong signal that administrators who manage the postseason are serious about trying to implement a new format by next season. The CFP faces a separate Dec. 1 deadline to inform ESPN of format changes for 2027.ESPN and the CFP are in the first year of a six-year contract worth a total of $7.8 billion to the conferences and schools that are part of the agreement. The deal includes rights to a Playoff of up to 14 teams. Anything beyond that creates new inventory and the potential for another rights-fee windfall for the conferences and schools.Exactly how much the inventory might be worth is vital to know but difficult to gauge without starting formal conversations with ESPN, which essentially has the right of first refusal for any new playoff games.“We don’t have any idea at this point of the clear media interest in an expanded Playoff,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said at his conference’s media days in July.This is the first step toward figuring that out.At the very least, the CFP would need to add about $250 million per year to cover the value of conference title games that would be replaced by an expanded first round of the Playoff.