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There is strong support for a 16-team College Football Playoff format to begin as soon as 2026 if Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey can reach a specific compromise, multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions have told ESPN in the days leading up to one of the most significant meetings for the sport's postseason.

There's still a stalemate, though, between the two powerbrokers, which means that even with a majority in favor of the change, the playoff could remain at 12 next season.

In November, the deadline for completing the format and related structural decisions moved from Dec. 1 to Jan. 23, 2026. CFP leaders -- including all 10 FBS commissioners, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, and the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the organization's Board of Managers -- will meet on Jan. 18 in Miami, the day before the national championship game, for their annual review of the season.

They are expected to discuss two models: a 16-team field that includes five conference champions and 11 at-large teams, and another format with 24 teams. Petitti and Sankey have the bulk of control over the playoff's format in 2026 and beyond, an agreement the other commissioners and Bevacqua signed off on in 2024 during the last contract negotiations with ESPN. If the Big Ten and SEC leaders can't come to an agreement by the deadline, the playoff will remain at 12 teams. The field will now guarantee the Power 4 conference champions spots, along with the highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of 6, which now includes the revamped Pac-12.

The Power 4 commissioners, including the ACC's Jim Phillips and the Big 12's Brett Yormark, have had multiple separate discussions about it in the weeks and months leading up to the national title game. On Monday, they will hold a brief videoconference with select members of their staffs to prepare for the larger board meeting in Miami.

Here's what the who's who of college football is saying behind closed doors about the future format, the selection committee, conference title games and the bowl games.

Future format

Sankey's support of a 16-team field is extremely significant because of the weight he carries in the room, but it won't happen if Petitti isn't on board -- and sources say the Big Ten wants to use this as leverage to eventually lock in a field with at least 24 teams, with or without automatic qualifiers. In exchange for support of a 16-team tournament now, sources said the Big Ten is looking for a commitment to move to 24 teams after two or three seasons. While some in the room might be willing to consider a 24-team field halfway through the new six-year deal, there is a strong reluctance to commit to it now -- and that could keep the stalemate ongoing. A 24-team playoff without any automatic qualifiers, though, might be appealing enough for Sankey to consider.

Some CFP leaders have become more open to the idea of a 24-team field -- it's not something people vehemently oppose -- but there is a sense among many of them that it's too significant of a leap to make at this point. The Big Ten's perspective, according to sources, is that three years with 16 teams would give conference commissioners time to eliminate their conference championship games and restructure the postseason to accommodate play-in games or whatever path to the playoff they might favor.
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There are some decision-makers, particularly in the SEC, who would support a field that included the 16 best teams without guarantees to conference champions, but also a realization that excluding the Group of 5 entirely is a highly unlikely scenario.

"I don't think that's going to fly," one source said.

There also isn't any serious momentum to require conference champions to be ranked within a certain range to qualify for the playoff -- a public talking point after No. 25 JMU entered the field. That qualifier hasn't gained support from decision-makers.

Sources said the 24-team model has been presented to the Power 4 commissioners, but not the larger group. There are still significant questions about how it would work and when, in addition to learning more specifically how the revenue would replace the championship games. There are also some concerns about weakening the importance of the regular season and adding even more lopsided postseason matchups. There is also a unified desire to preserve the Army-Navy window, while also realizing games would need to be played around it.

Under the new governance structure, any changes to the future format are now in the hands of the commissioners and Bevacqua. They no longer need the CFP's Board of Managers -- which is composed of 11 presidents and chancellors -- to give final approval.

One of the issues at the heart of this year's Selection Day was the ACC's tiebreaker, which excluded Miami from the conference championship game while pitting Virginia and five-loss Duke against each other. Because the five-loss Blue Devils won the league, the ACC champ was excluded from the CFP, while its best team, Miami, needed a last-minute flip to be included. Multiple sources have indicated that all Power 4 conferences will work this offseason to have a similar tiebreaker that would ultimately resort to the CFP rankings if needed -- something the Mountain West Conference did this past season. Those discussions are expected to heighten at the respective winter meetings.