Michigan’s Donovan Edwards celebrates after Michigan’s NCAA championship last season. (Karen … [+] Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
The College Football Playoff committee’s much-anticipated final reveal will be televised live Sunday, when the teams selected for the inaugural 12-team tournament field will be announced.
Champions from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern conferences receive automatic berths into the playoff, as will the top-ranked school from the Group of Five.
The four top-ranked league champions receive a bye into the quarterfinal round, while the lowest-ranked champion will join seven at-large teams to play four first-round games to be held Dec. 20-21.
The prestige of inclusion in the 12-team field is hardly the only perk. Money is also at stake. The CFP’s financial distribution model rewards conferences for not only how many teams they place in the field but also how far they advance.
Oregon fans stormed Autzen Stadium after the No. 1 Ducks beat Ohio State 32-31 in October. (Photo by … [+] Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
Per terms of the agreement for playoff participants:
*A conference will receive $4 million for each team that makes the College Football Playoff and for each team that advances to the quarterfinals.
*A conference will receive $6 million for each team that advances to the semifinals and each team that advances to the national championship game.
*A conference whose team makes the field will receive $3 million to cover expenses for each team in each round.
*Separately, each conference will receive $300,000 for each school whose team meets the NCAA academic progress rate (ARP) for participation in a postseason game. Each independent institution will also receive $300,000 when its football team meets that standard.
Ashton Jeanty had 209 yards rushing in Boise State’s 21-7 victory over UNLV in the Mountain West … [+] title game Friday. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)
It is not difficult to understand why coaches and officials from the Big 12 and the ACC attempted to make a strong case for their conferences after the most recent CFP rankings were announce Tuesday. No. 8 SMU was the only ACC team ranked in the top 12, and none of the Big 12 teams was ranked that high. Arizona State topped out at No. 15.
The champion of one of those conferences is almost certain to be the No. 5 seed, which would keep the league from maxing out on its potential revenue. The first four CFP seeds will net $8 million for their leagues by virtue of the first-round bye — $4 million for making the field and another $4 million for (automatically) advancing to the quarterfinals.
Running back Cam Skattebo has helped lead Arizona State into the Big 12 championship game. (AP … [+] Photo/Samantha Chow)
No. 10 Boise State won its second straight Mountain West championship with a 21-7 victory over No. 20 UNLV on Friday night, and it seems impossible that the Broncos could drop out of the top 12 in favor of a two-loss Big 12 champion or a two- or three-loss ACC winner.
Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State (both 10-2) will play for the Big 12 title and SMU (11-1) will play No. 17 Clemson (9-3) for ACC title.
Saturday’s championship card also includes No. 2 Texas (11-1) against No. 5 Georgia (10-2) in a rematch for the SEC title and No. 1 Oregon (12-0) meeting No. 3 Penn State (11-1) in the Big Ten title game. An an independent, No. 4 Notre Dame (11-1) is not eligible for top five seed per CFP rules.
SMU is one of seven 11-win teams in the FBS, losing only to Big 12 BYU. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Based on calculations from the 2023-24 season, the CFP said the following distributions were made in the spring of 2024:
*For conferences that had contracts for their champions to participate in the Orange, Rose, or Sugar bowls, the base amount combined with the full academic performance pool was approximately $79.41 million for each conference.
*The five conferences that did not have contracts for their champions to participate in the Orange, Rose or Sugar bowls received approximately $102.77 million in in base and APR pools.
*Notre Dame received a payment of $3.89 million by meeting the APR standard. the other six independents shared $1.89 million.
The Big Ten and the SEC stand to be the big winners if nothing changes Sunday from the most recent CFP rankings Dec. 3.
Four Big Ten schools — Oregon, Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State — and four SEC schools — Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama — were ranked in the top 11. Alabama landed at No. 11, one spot behind Boise State and one ahead of ACC Miami, which in that instance would be the first team out.
For that, Big Ten and SEC teams would earn at least $20 million for their conferences in the first two rounds — $16 million for the four teams in the field and another $4 million for the conference champion because it automatically advances.
That would leave first-round money of $4 million for each Notre Dame, Boise State, the Big 12 champ and the ACC champ. The Mountain West would be the biggest unexpected winner, inasmuch as it could make $8 million if Boise State gets the No. 4 seed and the bye.
The quarterfinals are Dec. 31-Jan. 1, the semifinals are Jan. 9-10 and and the championship game is Jan. 20 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Hypothetically, if an SEC team and a Big Ten team meet in the final game, each conference would earn another $12 million apiece — $6 million for reaching the semifinals, another $6 million for making the title game.
If one conference has both finalists, the windfall would $24 million.
No. 5 Georgia will meet No. 2 Texas in the SEC title game after an 8-overtime victory over Georgia … [+] Tech. (Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

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