PREPARE FOR MORE DISHONESTY AS ESPN TAKES OVER THE COLLEGE PLAYOFF

Instead of considering multiple networks to air the expanded tournament, the CFP cut another long-term deal with ESPN — $7.8 billion for six years — and finds itself exposed to blatant SEC favoritism

     Welcome to the (soon-to-be-named) College Football Playoff, through 2031, as giddily sanctioned by the Southeastern Conference and forcibly waylaid by ESPN. Remember the raging issues when unbeaten Florida State was ousted by one-loss Alabama? Remember the death threats to selection committee members?

     “I’ve never seen anything like this … the disgusting, profanity-laced emails and phone calls,” executive director Bill Hancock said.

     Well, because the tournament failed to consider multiple networks and maintain an even-steven broadcast arrangement, the CFP will be controlled by people who bring you Pat McAfee and a creepy betting app. The six-year extension amounts to $1.3 billion per year. And it feeds not only the perception — but the reality — that ESPN’s new contract with the SEC will involve postseason favors to the very same conference. Honestly, I trust the federal government more than I trust the people running the network in Bristol and Burbank.

     Anyone belonging to the Big Ten and middle-sized conferences, the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast, might want to practice legal arguments before the dozen teams are named each December. At $7.8 billion, maybe there were “no other bidders,” as retired Fox Sports president Bob Thompson posted on X. The CFP preferred solo money and inherited all hell breaking loose.

     It means problems when the committee sees an annual glut of SEC overlords — Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas and Oklahoma, among others — wanting places among the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. There will be one SEC champion. What about the other seven spots? This is the mess involving ESPN, an operation with no shame, only caring about the national prestige of programs when making selections. That’s why Alabama wedged in and a devastated Florida State proceeded to throw a lesser bowl game.

     What does America think is coming next? ESPN features sinister executives who lay off Jeff Van Gundy — and many others without his portfolio — and heave billions at college football. The bosses will continue to desire Alabama, with Nick Saban on the “College GameDay” set, and use their regular-season schedule to pump Georgia, Texas and all the others. The Big Ten? There is Ohio State, hungrier with transfer-portal pickups, and Michigan, with Sherrone Moore and no Jim Harbaugh, joined by West Coast newbies Oregon and Washington, with a new coach. What about the shrinkers? The Big 12 has … Deion Sanders and Utah. The ACC has … a defector in Florida State, long-gone Clemson and teams with no Atlantic in their names, California and Stanford.

     Just wait until Saban and McAfee praise the SEC lads, followed by hushed calls between the multi-billionaire network and the CFP folks. Last year, Missouri and Ole Miss also were among the national top 12. Can you imagine inviting six or seven? Can you imagine the commissioner, Greg Sankey, pushing for eight?

     This is why ESPN is horrific for sports. As it is, they want insiders to do public-relations work in enabling mass interest in the NFL and NBA. Add college football to the coward’s list. Any premise of journalism will get you kicked onto Middle Street and thrown into Jimmy Pitaro’s prison. All they do is promote and celebrate sports, not the general idea of communicating with the public. That’s what happens when an average of 123.7 million viewers watch the Super Bowl, with 202.4 million watching at least part of the game. I woke up Tuesday and heard radio host Mike Greenberg extolling Patrick Mahomes as larger than the Apollo 11 moon landing, which drew 125 to 150 million in 1969. His producer argued with him. Will he have a job today?

     Not only has ESPN turned sports totally out of whack. It has convinced America that nothing else matters in entertainment or life itself, which is why the streaming service with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery is cuckoo. The CFP is next in the weigh station, with one network determining what we all watch next winter into early 2032. Bill Hancock should contact security right now.

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     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.