CFP director Rich Clark somehow endorses both a 12-team and 24-team playoff in the same breath

Although entering this window resembles the likelihood

CFP Director Rich Clark supports the 12 and 24 team format simultaneously

As part of a 30-day negotiation, participants including ESPN and officials from the FBS conference, as well as the College Football Playoff leaders, prepared to complete the process on October 9, but the period was resumed by at least a week until next Friday.

This 30-day period allows ESPN and College Football Playoff leaders to discuss the logistical and financial details of a possible 24-team expansion, including the exact format, selection criteria, match schedule and, in particular, the additional revenue they can generate compared to the current situation.

If no agreement is reached by the deadline set, which is not intended to be reached, the College Football Playoff may release the broadcasting rights to the open market and solicit bids from other television networks.

Although entering this window resembles the likelihood of an expansion to 24 teams becoming much more likely, the final decision depends on the value that television networks assign to the extended format, a value that must correspond to the revenue losses that conferences make by eliminating conference finals matches, mandatory request for the extended format.

Naturally, College Football Playoff director Rich Clark, who has no direct voice in expansion decisions (these are the competence of the ten FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame's AD director Pete Bevacqua), maintains a balanced stance.

In fact, Clark knows that the decision

In an interview with Front Office Sports, Clark stated that he is a fan of the 12-team format, but also enjoys the possibility of moving to 24, which will become exceptionaland allow a hundred matches with the top 25 teams to take place over a full month.

I'm a big fan of the 12format, he said, but I'm really excited if we get to the 24 because it'll be great. They'll be fine. If it can be, but I really like the 12.

In fact, Clark knows that the decision will be determined by financial factors, and while he supports both options, he wanted to highlight the potential to double the number of teams included in the College Football Playoff.

„We've been looking at this possibility for a long time, and many hours of thought have been invested”, he said. „We think we can make it happen and it's going to be good for college football, but we have to make sure that all aspects - including finances and the media we're going to be involved with - are okay and can be somehow appropriate for college football”.

The decision on the future College Football Playoff will likely be made in the next seven weeks, at least for now, and College Football Playoff leaders have until 1 December to complete the expansion for the 2027-2028 season. If this date is not reached, the 12-team format will continue for at least an additional year, during which these changes will be discussed permanently.

This article first appeared on Awful Announcing.