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ESPN: College Football Playoff rethinking auto-byes in 14-team model after public backlash

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly03/08/24

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(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Details are continuing to be sorted out behind the scenes on what a 14-team College Football Playoff could look like.

Reports surfaced recently that the SEC and Big Ten are fighting for their champions to be the only ones to receive a bye in the new-look CFP. There was understandably some public backlash about that possibility, and other leagues don’t seem thrilled about that proposal, either.

Now it seems as though auto-byes for SEC and Big Ten champions might not happen, according to a report from ESPN.

According to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, the idea of the Big Ten and SEC champions being the only ones to receive byes was “an unpopular proposal that was met with significant pushback.”

That means that it could be back to the drawing board as conferences continue to work on a College Football Playoff format that works for everyone.

The SEC and Big Ten have separated themselves from other leagues in terms of revenue and top teams. The SEC and Big Ten have combined to win the past five national titles and 15 of the past 18.

Those two leagues are set to get even stronger with the SEC adding Oklahoma and Texas and the Big Ten bringing in Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA.

With that said, it’s also understandable that schools in other conferences aren’t thrilled about the possibility of having a disadvantage in the College Football Playoff, in addition to the disadvantage they already have financially.

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TCU head coach Sonny Dkyes went on the record with ESPN about his frustration.

“Automatic first-round byes for the Big Ten and SEC is like the NFL saying the Cowboys get a first-round bye since they have more fans than the Bengals. How preposterous is that?” Dykes said.

Report: College Football Playoff weighing new revenue model that would favor Big Ten, SEC

The Big Ten and SEC are continuing to push to elevate themselves above the rest of the leagues in College Football Playoff format negotiations. The latest turn, according to Yahoo Sports‘ Ross Dellenger, is a push to get a bigger stake in the revenue.

The Big Ten and SEC are reportedly seeking to split 58% of the base revenue, while the Big 12 and ACC would be given 32% to share. That leaves 10% left for Notre Dame and the rest of the conferences.

Under current CFP models, the Power 5 — soon four — conferences shares 80% of the base revenue relatively evenly.

In the new financial distribution, Dellenger estimated that the Big Ten and SEC would make something in the ballpark of $750 million combined annually, with around $450 million for the Big 12 and ACC and around $115 million for Notre Dame and the remaining teams.