ESPN's Paul Finebaum isn't just skeptical about the latest College Football Playoff expansion talk—he's downright furious. The outspoken commentator took aim at the American Football Coaches Association's proposal to blow up the current format and replace it with a 24-team behemoth, calling the idea “utterly ridiculous” and warning it would fundamentally damage the sport.
Speaking on On3's “Crain & Cone” show, Finebaum didn't mince words. “I don’t understand how people in the sport of football can endorse a 24-team playoff,” he said. “It’s one thing for college basketball to go to 76, it’s not really changing anything. But this doesn’t make very much sense in college football. It’s not even a money grab; it’s an access grab that should not happen in the sport of football.”
The AFCA board recently recommended eliminating conference championship games and reducing open weeks, while throwing its weight behind expanding the CFP to either 16 or 24 teams. AFCA executive director Craig Bohl argued that “more access” is needed, saying, “Whatever that number is, the powers that be should find that. I do know some coaches supported 24. We just didn’t discuss that a great deal. But we felt like change is needed.”
Finebaum countered that the real power brokers here are the Big Ten and SEC commissioners, who can't seem to agree on a path forward. “This really comes down to two people, and that’s the commissioners of the Big Ten and the SEC, and the problem right now is they can’t get along,” he said. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has signaled willingness to go to 16 teams but draws the line at 24, a stance Finebaum says is rooted in the lucrative conference championship game contracts—worth roughly $100 million for the SEC alone.
The debate has also drawn in former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Robert Griffin III, who argued that a 24-team model is “the right move” for the sport’s financial survival. “Expansion will increase revenue for all the conferences and teams who want to find a way to offset the increased spending they have taken on with student athletes now getting a piece of the pie through revenue sharing/NIL,” Griffin said. He also pointed to the growing roster costs—approaching $50 million annually in football—and the need for more networks to carry playoff games.
But Finebaum isn't buying the financial argument. He sees the proposal as a threat to the sport's competitive integrity. “The conference championship games are over; I don’t really think that’s a debate any longer,” he said. “It’s just a matter of unwinding them, because the SEC has a very profitable deal worth about $100 million, and they have contracts.”
This isn't the first time Finebaum has weighed in on the CFP's future. He recently pointed a finger at Georgia's Kirby Smart for fueling the Big Ten's rise in the playoff conversation. And the debate over a 24-team playoff has drawn sharp reactions from fans, many of whom side with Finebaum's skepticism. Meanwhile, Ohio State coach Ryan Day has also voiced concerns about the current playoff schedule, calling it “unfair” and demanding changes.
As the college football landscape continues to shift—with conference realignments, rising NIL costs, and the looming possibility of a 24-team playoff—Finebaum's warning echoes louder than ever. The question now is whether the sport's power brokers can find common ground before the proposal gains more traction.
