24-Team Playoff Deal Could Push Army-Navy to December's First Weekend, Front Office Sports Sources Say

Since the College Football Playoff grew to 12 teams in 2024, the sport's power brokers have been working toward doubling it again. This week they got there on a handshake, according to ESPN, with a 24-team field targeted for 2027. The CFP has not formally approved it.

The first collateral question is on the calendar. The Army-Navy Game has had a mid-December weekend to itself for years. This season's game is set for Dec. 12.

The proposed format

The structure described to date puts 16 teams into an opening round, with the eight top seeds getting byes. Reuters reported the format is close to final. Higher seeds would host on campus, and the New Year's Six bowls would serve as quarterfinals and semifinals, according to the Daily Campus.

Automatic bids would go to the regular-season champions of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, plus the highest-ranked Group of Six team. The other 19 spots would be at-large. Conference championship games would disappear.

The proposed deal also includes a $325 million annual broadcast agreement with ESPN as the tournament's sole broadcaster, according to the Daily Campus.

Where Army-Navy lands

Yahoo Sports reported the opening round would fall on December's second weekend. That is the slot Army-Navy normally occupies alone.

If the field expands, the academies' game could slide to December's opening weekend, according to sources who spoke to Front Office Sports. That weekend would be cleared because the conference title games would be gone, leaving it free of other FBS and NFL action. A final date likely will not be set until the CFP approves expansion.

Army athletic director Tom Theodorakis declined to discuss the specific weekend. He did tell Front Office Sports: "I view these conversations as a win for the academies and 'America's Game.' If we can preserve Army-Navy while giving our Cadet athletes the opportunity to be in the College Football Playoff, that's the best of both worlds."

A 24-team field with no conference title games would also leave both academies free for playoff dates if either earns a bid.

Money and Washington

Both academies collect millions from the game through sponsorships, ticket revenue and an exclusive CBS deal that the network extended in 2024 through 2038.

Last December, President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order directing the CFP and the TV networks to carve out an exclusive broadcast window for the game. The order he signed in March named no preferred weekend. Its enforceability is unclear.

The other proposed dates have drawn pushback. Army coach Jeff Monken pitched Thanksgiving weekend. Navy athletic director Michael Kelly raised doubts to Front Office Sports in February, citing the NFL's holiday games and the likelihood that academy members would miss the game while home on break.

Tim Pernetti, commissioner of the American Conference, where both academies play, has not publicly picked a date. He told The Capital Gazette in February: "The Army-Navy game is a national treasure where the true commitment of our future leaders is on display. We will do whatever it takes to protect and defend it."

The fight over what expansion does to the season

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde calls the deal a breaking of the "social contract" between college sports executives and paying fans. He argues that nobody in the general public asked for it and that the 12-team playoff, which he calls successful and popular, will shut down after its third year. Forde blames Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and says SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, "the last line of defense against 24," caved after Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips had backed expansion.

Other critics make a narrower complaint about the regular season. Writing for Dawn of the Dawg, one columnist argues a 10-1 team could enter rivalry weekend with its berth secured and have little reason to risk a star quarterback. Another critic, writing in the Daily Campus, contends rivalry games could turn into "low-stakes meetings to decide seeding."

Supporters say the regular season keeps its weight. A Daily Nebraskan columnist notes the SEC has already moved from eight to nine conference games. That columnist argues the larger field will force Power Four schools to schedule real non-conference opponents. The SEC has also demanded that power conference teams play at least 10 games against Power Four opponents or Notre Dame, according to the Daily Campus. That rule could leave Group of Six schools with fewer chances to build a resume.

One case from last year shows how the arithmetic would change. Duke won the ACC title at 7-5, and two Group of Six programs reached the 2025 playoff.

What comes next

The CFP has to formally sign off before any of this is official. The Army-Navy date depends on that vote. Until the field is approved, this season's game stays on Dec. 12. The date for 2027 and beyond is unsettled.