Sources: Rose Bowl given Wed. deadline for CFP

Leaders of the College Football Playoff issued an ultimatum to the Rose Bowl this week, giving a self-imposed deadline of Wednesday to find whether the CFP tin grow successful clip for the commencement of the 2024 regular season, and if the game's astir storied vessel can't hold to the terms, it's imaginable it could beryllium excluded from the New Year's Six vessel rotation successful the adjacent contract, sources told ESPN.

"We privation the Rose Bowl," a CFP root said. "We person a bully concern with the six bowls we are affiliated with. We do. And we privation to proceed with that. I anticipation the Rose Bowl volition beryllium portion of that, but there's nary warrant successful immoderate of that. None."

If the CFP doesn't grow successful clip for the 2024 season, it volition suffer astir $450 cardinal successful imaginable gross revenue. There is mounting unit to marque a determination this week -- perchance arsenic soon arsenic Tuesday.

While the Rose Bowl's presumption successful an expanded CFP isn't the lone obstacle that slowed the process, it is the past and astir complicated. The treatment centered astir 1 of the astir lucrative tv windows successful assemblage sports. Laura Farber, the seat of the Rose Bowl Management Committee, told ESPN earlier this period the crippled wanted to support its exclusive broadcast model connected January 1 astatine 2 p.m. PT successful years that it would besides big a CFP semifinal.

The Rose Bowl was consenting to temporarily concede its narration with the Big Ten and Pac-12 to big a quarterfinal crippled successful 2024 and 2025, but successful return, it asked for assurances successful the caller contract. There is nary declaration successful spot beyond the existent 12-year deal, which runs done the 2025 season.

"We proceed to person regular conversations with the CFP Board of Managers and we stay hopeful we tin travel to an agreement," a Rose Bowl spokesperson told ESPN connected Tuesday.

Farber told ESPN successful November the vessel was consenting to beryllium flexible.

"For anyone to accidental that the Rose Bowl Game is the sole crushed close present that enlargement whitethorn not hap earlier the existent rhythm runs retired is categorically wrong," said Farber. "Yes, we request to enactment done the details of our declaration and our abstracted broadcast agreement, but we stay unfastened to that."

A CFP root said it was just to telephone it an ultimatum, but not a threat. CFP leaders are asking the Rose Bowl to reconsider immoderate of the guarantees it's seeking successful the adjacent contract. When the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame diversion manager Jack Swarbrick negociate the adjacent TV deal, they are unanimous successful their tendency to person aggregate TV partners. ESPN is presently the sole rights holder done the 2025 season. A root said the CFP has assured the Rose Bowl it volition bash everything it tin to enactment astir the Jan. 1 2 p.m. PT slot, but has asked each of the bowls to instrumentality a leap of religion due to the fact that the commissioners can't beryllium bound to promises that volition oregon won't interaction the worth arsenic they're trying to negociate the adjacent deal.

"We're to the constituent wherever we've got to marque a determination moving forward," a root said. "That's wherever we are."

In bid for the CFP to grow during this existent contract, everyone progressive -- including each New Year's Six vessel games, the CFP and ESPN arsenic its exclusive rights holder -- person to unanimously agree. Multiple sources told ESPN the calendar had been determined -- the presidents and chancellors met connected Nov. 16 and figured retired the gross distribution, according to a source. The past portion of the puzzle was the Rose Bowl. When the adjacent declaration is negotiated, it doesn't person to beryllium unanimous -- making it overmuch easier to determination connected without the Rose Bowl and/or the Big Ten and Pac-12 votes.

The self-imposed deadline of Nov. 30 was issued due to the fact that the big cities are moving retired of time, and person bent implicit backwards to accommodate the CFP to this constituent portion they effort to enactment retired the details. In mid-August, the CFP announced Atlanta volition big the nationalist title crippled successful 2025, followed by Miami successful January 2026.

With unit mounting to marque a determination rapidly successful bid to grow successful clip for the 2024 season, discussions intensified connected Monday morning, erstwhile respective members of the CFP's committee of managers held a meeting. The 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the Board of Managers person the eventual authorization implicit the playoff.

In the projected 12-team format for 2024, the Cotton and Orange bowls would enactment existent to the existent statement and big semifinals, and successful 2025, the Fiesta and Peach bowls would besides big semifinals arsenic presently planned.

On Sept. 2, the CFP's committee of managers unanimously voted to grow the CFP to 12 teams successful 2026 but encouraged the sport's commissioners to effort to instrumentality it arsenic soon arsenic 2024. The archetypal 12-team exemplary was archetypal made nationalist successful June, 2021, and includes the six highest-ranked league champions and six at-large teams.

The rankings of the teams volition proceed to beryllium determined by the CFP enactment committee, which volition stay mostly unchanged.

The 4 highest-ranked league champions volition beryllium seeded 1 done 4 with each receiving a first-round bye. Teams seeded 5 done 12 volition play each different successful the archetypal round. The quarterfinals and semifinals volition beryllium played successful vessel games connected a rotating basis, and the title crippled volition beryllium astatine a neutral site, arsenic nether the existent four-team format.

"I don't privation it to conscionable travel down to the Rose Bowl arsenic the crushed we don't commencement it early, I truly don't, but it whitethorn be," a CFP root said. "We said this from Day 1 -- determination whitethorn beryllium immoderate fig of reasons we can't. We're truly down to 1 remaining issue."