ESPN to pay $7.8B for expanded NCAA CFP deal

ESPN has closed a $7.8 billion deal to remain the exclusive TV partner for the NCAA’s signature College Football Playoff tournament.

The news that the Disney-owned sports giant would keep the CFP was announced March 19, 2024, during Axios’ What’s Next Summit and largely confirms earlier reports of a new agreement.

The current deal, set to expire after the 2026 final, will be extended through the 2031-2032 season.

ESPN will continue to have exclusive rights to the all rounds of the expanded playoff games. It will also retain exclusivity for all official programming connected to the CFP, including the selection show and a weekly Top 25 ranking broadcast.

“ESPN has worked very closely with the College Football Playoff over the past decade to build one of the most prominent events in American sports,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement published on the network website. “We look forward to enhancing our valued relationship over the next two years, and then continuing it for six more as we embark on this new, expanded playoff era.

As previously planned, the CFP will grow from four to 12 teams starting with the upcoming 2024-2025 season. It could potentially grow to 14 teams in the 2026-2027 season. 

ESPN will air all four of the first-round games each year. The CFP quarterfinals and semifinals will become the part of the New Year’s Six bowls.

The deal calls for ESPN to continue carrying the National Championship game until 2026, when it will be carried on ABC as well, potentially increasing its visibility. 

Advertisement

The new contract represents an increase in rights fees — to $1.3 billion per year — which is reflective of an increase in the number of games ESPN will carry. Under the current agreement, only seven games were included. With the upcoming changes to the format of the CFP, ESPN could end up broadcasting 11 or 13 games, depending on if the field expands to 14 or not in 2026.

ESPN’s move to close this broadcast rights deal illustrates the value of exclusive sports licensing deals and could play a key role in keeping the network competitive amid the changing landscape of broadcasting (Disney is set to launch a combined streaming bundle later in 2024 with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, so the CFP would presumably be included in that offering once it debuts).

The newly-signed deal specifically gives Disney the right to MegaCast CFP games across multiple Disney-owned platforms, including direct-to-consumer offerings such as streaming. Disney also maintains the right to sub-license games under certain conditions, though the company still expects ESPN and ABC to the be the primary brands consumers see CFP linked to. 

The industry has seen increased costs for sports licensing, and ESPN and Disney have pledged to spend close to $9 billion in 2024 to keep some of their most valuable franchises on its airwaves. There had been earlier reports that the NCAA was considering splitting the CFP rights among multiple networks, with Fox reportedly showing interest.

Earlier in 2024, ESPN agreed to pay $920 over eight years to carry 40 of the NCAA’s championships, including the popular women’s basketball tournament. 

It is also in the process of negotiating new deals with the NBA and WNBA ahead of the current deals’ expirations in 2025.

The CFP was first introduced in 2015 and has proven to be a popular event in sports broadcasting. It reliably delivers large audiences, typically coming in just behind regular season NFL games in terms of viewership. 

ESPN has held the CFP broadcast rights since its inception.