First off, yes, the SEC and B1G were willing to walk away from the rest of FBS:
"Would the SEC have really taken its proverbial ball and left the CFP?
“Absolutely,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports. “When we ended that set of meetings in January 2022 without a decision, I was clear: If you are going to walk away from this opportunity, we are going to reevaluate our position on format, revenue sharing and governance.
“People called me (after the latest deal) and said, ‘Why did you take a hard line? Why did you put us in this position?’ I said, ‘You guys walked away from the deal.’”
...
"Petitti emphasized that it was a real possibility.
“I think we felt confident that we were willing, if we couldn’t craft a deal, that we’d look at other options. We would have started over,” he said. “Without seeing better alignment, we weren’t going to sign. We were 100% confident and made it clear that we were only going to do a deal that worked for us.”
That moment when the Alliance put the kibosh on the 12-team format (initially) in January 2022 is what set off the dominoes to where we are today.
sports.yahoo.com
Confirmation that the B1G was proposing the multiple autobids from the leagues at the top:
"Petitti focused at first on format, proposing the CFP expand beyond 12 teams and remove as much subjectivity as possible in the selection process by adding multiple automatic qualifiers per conference."
Yormark pushed for the look-in after 2027:
"With conferences still in a state of flux, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark led a movement for a look-in provision after the 2027 playoff. The provision can be exercised by a power league and would trigger a re-evaluation of the revenue structure based on CFP participation and performance over the next four years (2024-27).
The provision can also be triggered by “material realignment.”
“I can’t sit here and say I’m thrilled with the revenue model, but it’s the best deal we could get,” Yormark said. “I’m bullish on the Big 12 and I’m betting on the future. With the investment we are making in football, we will be in a better position when that look-in presents itself.”
"Would the SEC have really taken its proverbial ball and left the CFP?
“Absolutely,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told Yahoo Sports. “When we ended that set of meetings in January 2022 without a decision, I was clear: If you are going to walk away from this opportunity, we are going to reevaluate our position on format, revenue sharing and governance.
“People called me (after the latest deal) and said, ‘Why did you take a hard line? Why did you put us in this position?’ I said, ‘You guys walked away from the deal.’”
...
"Petitti emphasized that it was a real possibility.
“I think we felt confident that we were willing, if we couldn’t craft a deal, that we’d look at other options. We would have started over,” he said. “Without seeing better alignment, we weren’t going to sign. We were 100% confident and made it clear that we were only going to do a deal that worked for us.”
That moment when the Alliance put the kibosh on the 12-team format (initially) in January 2022 is what set off the dominoes to where we are today.
How the new College Football Playoff format came to be and what it means for the sport's future
"The rich are getting richer, and the poor get poorer." A look inside the heated negotiations over the latest CFP deal, and the unstable landscape that lies ahead.
sports.yahoo.com
Confirmation that the B1G was proposing the multiple autobids from the leagues at the top:
"Petitti focused at first on format, proposing the CFP expand beyond 12 teams and remove as much subjectivity as possible in the selection process by adding multiple automatic qualifiers per conference."
Yormark pushed for the look-in after 2027:
"With conferences still in a state of flux, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark led a movement for a look-in provision after the 2027 playoff. The provision can be exercised by a power league and would trigger a re-evaluation of the revenue structure based on CFP participation and performance over the next four years (2024-27).
The provision can also be triggered by “material realignment.”
“I can’t sit here and say I’m thrilled with the revenue model, but it’s the best deal we could get,” Yormark said. “I’m bullish on the Big 12 and I’m betting on the future. With the investment we are making in football, we will be in a better position when that look-in presents itself.”
