(12-17-2018 12:52 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(12-17-2018 12:30 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(12-17-2018 12:15 AM)JRsec Wrote:  ...the SEC has made its stance clear. We aren't giving up the CCG, and we have no desire to expand the CFP.

Where did this straw man argument come from? Expanding the playoffs to 8 teams and dropping the CCGs should be 2 completely separate matters... any attempt to connect the 2 is pork-barrel legislation at its worst!

It's worth noting that the SEC's tv package on CBS, including the SEC CCG, expires after the 2023-24 season. For the past several years, the SEC CCG has effectively been either a semifinal (under the BCS) or a quarterfinal (under the CFP) for the National Championship. Expanding the CFP has the potential to actually demote the SEC CCG and thereby reduce its value, which may be part of the SEC's concern. Having said that, the increase in value from adding four games to the CFP and the potential to have two teams in the CFP every year for the SEC, would probably outweigh any loss of value to the SEC CCG.

Except that it doesn't. Two teams in the CFP equals 12 million in payouts for those two teams (6 million each). The SEC CCG pays out close to 3 million to each of the 14 member schools. If you expand the CFP I promise you that the share for participants will go down from the 6 per each figure now.

They would have to offer something like 4 million for each of the first round participants, and then more for the semis and finals. Right now you get 6 million win or lose and the final game doesn't pay you a dime more.

Then you have to look at the per school payouts of the current NY6 bowl participants. Most of those are between 4 to 5 million to each participant. So the first round of the CFP would have to be at least that much.

The money game for ESPN is the final. There is no additional cash outlay for that game and it essentially puts them over the top for the 40 million paid out to each of the P5 for participation in the bowl system.

So you have a devaluation of significant proportion from the regular non CFP bowls if you move to 8. You also devalue the CCG's which is conference money only, not ESPN money, and you tick off the NY6 bowls that aren't part of the CFP as you reduce their significance and exposure.

So the viable question is how much do you have to compensate the conferences to eliminate their CCGs and how much do you have to compensate to make up for the diminishing value of the bowls which currently are part of the bowl share allocations to the P5?

I'd say that the SEC CCG would need a compensation of at least 45 million to make the abandonment of it a serious consideration. Ditto for the Big 10. The PAC and ACC might consider it for 30 million. And the Big 12 CCG would fall somewhere in between the two groups. Then you might need another 15 to 20 million to compensate for the devaluation of the top non CFP bowls.

Could it be done? Sure. Could it be done profitably? That's a lot more dicey than it would appear at first blush.