The College Football Playoff is nearing a deal to expand from 12 teams to 24, with the new format starting in 2027, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported, citing sources. Thamel wrote that a deal is "expected to come together in the near future, pending final approvals." Nothing has been finalized.

The outlets rewriting Thamel's report differ on timing. Yahoo Sports, Awful Announcing and ESPN all put the start at the 2027 season. CBS Sports' summary says the conferences are near a deal to double the field "starting next year." That fits 2027 only if "next year" means the 2027 season. We have no full text of the CBS piece, so we can't say how it frames the date.

CBS Sports (Austin Nivison) is the only outlet whose headline raises the idea that the expansion "could end title games." The feed summary we have doesn't explain what that means or how a 24-team bracket would change the championship. Nothing in the available reporting from the other outlets covers it, so it should be treated as one outlet's detail until more is known.

The current format is young. Yahoo Sports (Nick Bromberg) notes the 12-team playoff is in its third season. The expansion would double the field after only a few years of the current model. Yahoo's summary also says prior reports exist on the subject, but the feed text doesn't say what they contained.

The feeds leave out several things that matter for how a 24-team field would work. They don't say how the 24 spots would be allocated between conference champions and at-large teams, whether any byes would remain, how many rounds there would be, or how the schedule would fit into the calendar. They also don't say which approvals are still needed. We aren't going to guess at any of that.

The next step is the final approvals Thamel referenced. No date has been given, only "the near future." Until those approvals arrive, the 24-team format and its 2027 start are reported plans, not a finished agreement.