Sources: College Football Playoff, ESPN discuss 6-year rights contract،
HOUSTON — The College Football Playoff and ESPN are in the middle of negotiations to keep the network as the sole rights holder of the event for the next eight years, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The deal would include the final two years of the current CFP contract plus a new six-year deal for the next iteration of the playoffs, sources told ESPN.
If ESPN remains the sole rights holder, that would be a significant change from what the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick initially wanted, as all agreed that multiple partners Broadcasting – a model similar to that the NFL has – would be best for college football.
Although nothing has been finalized and negotiations are ongoing, sources have indicated that ESPN plans to pay approximately $1.3 billion for the rights to the new six-year deal starting with the 2026 season.
ESPN declined to comment.
ESPN is the sole rights holder to the current 12-year contract, which expires after the 2025 season. The CFP will expand from four to 12 teams this fall.
CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said the organization is no longer in the exclusive negotiating window with ESPN.
“I have to say this is a negotiation so I won't be able to tell you much about it,” Hancock said. “We are happy with where we are and we haven’t reached the finish line yet.”
A sublicensing agreement was a sticking point that was resolved, according to sources. The deal would give ESPN the ability to sell the rights to certain games, which would interest Fox Sports, sources said.
Hancock said that if ESPN were to sublicense games, presidents would have to approve it.
The 10 FBS commissioners and Swarbrick gathered with the 11 presidents and chancellors who control the CFP for their annual meeting Monday morning before No. 1 Michigan faces No. 2 Washington in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T . Although nothing concrete has been settled regarding future TV rights in the new deal, sources told ESPN that it is something all parties are eager to finalize.
“I don’t have a timetable,” Hancock said. “We’re getting closer.”
