Earlier on Friday, the presidents of the College Football Playoff’s Board of Managers voted unanimously to extend the field of eligible teams to compete from four to twelve. The largest reason: money.
Pete Thamel of ESPN and feature of College GameDay said as much is a tweet after breaking the story.
Currently the College Football Playoff is making $600 million annually from ESPN to broadcast the tournament’s semi-finals and championship game. The expanded field could double that to $1.2 billion per year.
In terms on implementing the new format, there is also incentive to try and make the change starting with next season. Ross Dellenger reports that if they can do so, it could mean an extra $450 million in revenue.
