Tim Brando has never been one to hold back his opinions, and when it comes to college football's regular season, he's been singing the same tune long before it became a talking point for Fox Sports.
"I've been saying this since I worked at ESPN and CBS Sports," Brando posted on X Tuesday. "This greatest regular season crap has been a myth for years!"
The veteran broadcaster's remarks came hot on the heels of news that the American Football Coaches Association voted last week to support a 24-team playoff format—a proposal that would effectively eliminate conference championship games. And Brando didn't stop there. In a nod to his critics, he wryly referred to himself and fellow pundit Clay Travis as Fox Sports' "house boys," acknowledging the network's deepening involvement in the push for expansion.
But Brando's frustration isn't just about the format—it's about what he sees as a hollow argument. For years, the mantra has been that college football's regular season is the most meaningful in sports. But with every passing season, that narrative feels more like a relic of a bygone era. Between conference realignment, the transfer portal, and the inevitability of an expanded playoff, the game has already changed. Brando is simply calling it what it is.
The financial stakes behind this debate are impossible to ignore. Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks publicly endorsed the 24-team format back in April at a Sports Business Journal conference. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has been floating the idea of 24 or even 28 teams since last summer. And Fox's lead analyst, Joel Klatt, has spent this playoff cycle criticizing ESPN's exclusive CFP deal, calling it bad for the sport and saying he'd "do anything" to call a playoff game.
Here's why that matters: ESPN's current deal gives it exclusive broadcast rights to every CFP game, in any format, for up to 14 teams. But expand beyond that threshold, and suddenly new inventory hits the open market—inventory Fox would eagerly bid on. A 24-team bracket would add roughly 12 additional games to a network that currently has no college football presence after conference championship weekend.
On the flip side, ESPN executives have privately dismissed the 24-team format, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. For them, the current system is working just fine—and they have the exclusive rights to prove it.
Whether you agree with Brando or not, one thing is clear: the debate over the playoff's future is far from over. And with the financial incentives growing by the year, the "greatest regular season" argument may be the next thing to get left behind.