Greg Sankey Is Standing Alone Against 24-Team Playoff Expansion and the SEC Might Pay the Price

The College Football Playoff expansion battle just got real, and the SEC commissioner isn't backing down. While the Big Ten pushes hard for a massive 24-team field, Greg Sankey is the one power conference commissioner still firmly planted in the 16-team camp, and he's got some serious concerns that go way beyond just tradition.

The 24-Team Format Is Already Being Seriously Considered

At the CFP's annual spring meetings in Irving, Texas this week, a 24-team playoff format got its most serious examination yet. The Big Ten has been championing a version that would see the top 24 teams in the CFP rankings make the field, with the top eight getting first-round byes and the first two rounds played on higher-ranked teams' campuses. That adds 12 new games to what's currently an 11-game postseason.

But Sankey made it clear: not so fast. The SEC commissioner re-emphasized his concerns about how expansion could damage the regular season, hurt athlete health and welfare with more games, and eliminate something the SEC values big time: the conference championship game. That last part isn't just philosophy. The SEC title game is worth at least $80 million, possibly $100 million, according to sources with knowledge of the numbers.

The Money Question Nobody Can Answer Yet

Here's the problem: Does a 24-team playoff actually generate enough new revenue to justify eliminating 10 conference championship games worth roughly $250 million combined? Nobody really knows. Experts told Yahoo Sports the 12 new games could be worth anywhere from $300 million to $700 million, depending on who you ask. That's a massive range, and many of those first-round games would feature teams with three or four losses.

ESPN owns up to 13 of the current games, which means only about 10 would likely hit the open market. At $10 million to $25 million per game, the math gets fuzzy fast. Add in campus game revenue of $50 to $75 million, and you still might not fill the financial hole left by ditching conference championships.

"You might not even make enough to recoup the conference championship game revenue," one person at the meetings said. The Big Ten and SEC are contractually obligated to play those games anyway. So Sankey's standing his ground, and the power brokers will have to figure out if the revenue actually works.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.