SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said he “wasn’t happy” with the league’s recently negotiated revenue distribution plan from the College Football Playoff, but he remains confident in the future of the conference while recognizing the football teams have to perform at a higher level.

In mid-March, all nine FBS conferences and Notre Dame leadership agreed to the next CFP contract, which will begin in 2026 and further separate the Big Ten and the SEC financially from the other leagues. Big Ten and SEC schools will each be making more than $21 million annually. ACC schools will get more than $13 million annually, while Big 12 schools will get more than $12 million annually.

Yormark said he pushed for a “look-in” in 2028, which is halfway through the six-year deal and gives the FBS commissioners an opportunity to reevaluate the economics and “see whether or not anything should be modified or adjusted.”

“Having that look-in made sense for a lot of different reasons,” said Yormark, who spoke to a small group of reporters Wednesday at the annual Fiesta Spring Summitt. “I certainly wasn’t happy with the distribution. I guess you could say in some respects I was satisfied. It was fine. But certainly not happy about it. And I don’t think our ADs or our coaches are either, but we’re going to continue to invest for the right reasons.

“We’re going to continue to build football. It’s at the core of what we do, and I’m excited about the future.”

Yormark said he doesn’t wake up every morning thinking about other conferences, and that the narrative about the growing power and separation of the SEC and Big Ten has been “overstated.” Those two conferences have the bulk of control over the future format, but the other leagues surrendered that in exchange for iron-clad guarantees.

“We spend a lot of time talking strategically about the direction of collegiate athletics and what’s in the best interest of everyone,” Yormark said. “Does the SEC and Big Ten break away from that from time to time and strategize together? I’m sure they do, but I will tell you the chemistry and culture amongst the four commissioners is extremely positive and, even though I’m relatively new in my job, I’d venture to say it’s the best its ever been.”

The CFP will unveil a 12-team format this season and next, but Yormark and the other commissioners on the CFP management committee haven’t determined what the sport’s postseason will look like in 2026 and beyond. There is strong momentum within the room for a 14-team field, and the commissioners did agree that there would be at least 12 teams in the future.

Yormark said more access for student-athletes is “a great thing,” but there is no timeline for deciding the future format and doesn’t expect any decisions “in the foreseeable future.”

“If we end up going to 14 and we can further enhance the championship experience for more teams and more student-athletes, that’s great,” Yormark said, “and I’m going to continue to bet on the Big 12 that we’re going to take some of those at-large spots. In theory, more is more. More is good, but the proof is in the details and I’m excited to see how this year plays out at 12.”

Yormark said he’d like to see the pros and cons of the 12-team format first before trying to modify it.

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing to just play it out this year, but I’m just one of many,” he said. “… We’ll collectively make that decision.”

This week’s spring meetings marked the first time all 16 schools were represented in league meetings following a sweeping conference expansion that added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. Yormark said the league also discussed more access in the NCAA basketball tournament and the coaches “in theory” are for expansion. While he said he hasn’t thought about the number, Yormark said he’s “open to 76.”

“The tournament is one of the greatest spectacles in sports,” Yormark said. “It captivates hard-core fans and casual fans for all the right reasons and you don’t want to mess with something that’s great, but if there’s chances to modify it a bit … We owe it to ourselves to do that.”

Yormark said he understands the conference “didn’t perform probably as well” as others in the past decade of the CFP, but “history doesn’t always repeat itself.”

“There’s a lot to sell here, and I’m pretty good at selling,” Yormark said. “I’m going to continue to push the narrative for all the right reasons while we get better. … Now, we have to perform, don’t get me wrong. It all comes back to performance, and the coaches know that and the ADs know that. But my job is, as we continue to perform at a higher level, to create the narrative behind it.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As revenue sharing with college athletes becomes a growing possibility, some bowl leaders are already hoping for a collective bargaining agreement with the players that would help significantly lower the number of postseason opt-outs.

Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season, told ESPN at the Fiesta Bowl Spring Summit this week that his understanding from speaking with conference commissioners and NCAA president Charlie Baker is that NIL collectives are destined to be brought in-house and there have been discussions about contracts in exchange for NIL payments.

“If you sign a contract and receive compensation, you’re obligated to perform certain duties — in this case, play 12 regular-season games and a bowl game or a bowl game and the playoff,” he said. “That’s logical to expect. It’s the way the rest of us working folks operate.”

Fiesta Bowl executive director and CEO Erik Moses agreed, adding that he isn’t insensitive to the risks the players and agents might take.

“Think about the industry that we’re in,” Moses told ESPN. “We put on live events. You come to see the talent. If the main talent isn’t there — you go see the Stones and Mick Jagger’s not playing, are you really seeing the Stones? We want the best talent to be involved in those matchups and those games and those events. That’s what people are paying to see.

“Yes, they care about the name on the front of the jersey probably more than the name on the back; that’s the special thing about college sports and college football,” he said. “But you want to see the best guys play, and I think the only way we get to that is through a collective bargaining agreement and employment contracts that require you to play in the postseason if you’re healthy.”

Carparelli said Bowl Season doesn’t officially track the number of opt-outs, but he estimated it has been about eight players per team who choose not to play in their bowl game because of the transfer portal, NFL draft or any other reason.

Moses said he expects the new 12-team College Football Playoff to help lower the number of opt-outs this fall because more teams will be playing for the national title — not just another postseason win.

“… You want to see the best guys play, and I think the only way we get to that is through a collective bargaining agreement and employment contracts that require you to play in the postseason if you’re healthy.”

Fiesta Bowl executive director and CEO Erik Moses

“You’re not just coming to the Fiesta Bowl to win the Fiesta Bowl and that’s it,” he said. “Now, you’re going to abandon your brothers, your teammates when you have a chance to win the national championship? That’s something those guys remember for the rest of their lives. You’re a part of history at that point.”

Carparelli said the 12-team format won’t require the elimination of any bowls currently in operation, but he noted that if the CFP eventually expands to 14 teams in 2026 and beyond, one might be cut. Bowl Season includes a total of 44 games, including 35 “traditional” bowls, the New Year’s Six bowls, the national title game, the Celebration Bowl and the East-West Shrine Bowl.

“That’ll be interesting to see,” he said. “Certainly, with two extra teams going to the playoff, that may mean one less bowl game involved.”

The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl will host a CFP quarterfinal game this year on Dec. 31 in the debut of the 12-team playoff. For the 2025 season, the Fiesta Bowl will host a semifinal on Jan. 8, 2026.

Moses said he has no reason to believe the New Year’s Six bowls won’t be included in future iterations of the CFP in 2026 and beyond.

“I think that we are at a point right now where we are challenging tradition of this sport in almost every way possible,” he said. “And the tradition of college football and college athletics, in my mind, is a key element to the affinity that people have for the sport, and I think we need to look for commonsense ways to preserve as much of that tradition as we can while also giving ourselves the latitude to innovate. I think the expansion of the playoff is a great innovation. I think the inclusion of the bowls as the kind of the meat of those playoffs is a great compromise between the consistency of tradition, while still innovating, and in my mind, that’s the sweet spot.”

Colorado coach Deion Sanders and his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, have gone on the offensive on social media after a story ran about how former Buffaloes players fared after many were run off following the arrival of “Coach Prime.”

Former Colorado safety Xavier Smith told the Athletic in a story published Monday that Deion Sanders “never even tried to get to know me,” and that he “was destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves.”

Shedeur Sanders posted to X, formerly Twitter, that he didn’t remember who Smith was.

“Bro had to be very mid at best,” Shedeur Sanders posted, insinuating Smith was only an average player.

Smith, who had injury trouble in his short time at Colorado, earned freshman All-America honors at FCS Austin Peay in 2023 and has since followed coach Scotty Walden to UTEP.

After Shedeur Sanders’ tweet, things escalated into a series of back-and-forth trash talk.

Colorado receiver Kaleb Mathis posted a video of himself getting the better of Smith in a practice last spring, to which Smith’s Austin Peay teammate, Jaheim Ward, noted that Mathis had just 38 receiving yards last season.

That tweet led to Ward’s career stats at the FCS school (36 tackles over the past three seasons) getting posted, prompting Coach Sanders to weigh in Wednesday, stating “Lawd Jesus” above a screenshot of Ward’s stats.

Deion Sanders’ tweet taking aim at the relatively anonymous FCS player was viewed more than 12 million times since it was posted. He also clapped back at another X user who took issue with Shedeur’s social media behavior and pointed out Colorado’s 4-8 record last year.

“He will be a top 5 pick,” Deion Sanders said of his son. “Where yo son going ? Lololol I got time today. Lololol.”