The Rose Bowl has till the tip of the week — on the newest — to relinquish its demand to proceed taking part in in its conventional time slot in continued talks with the College Football Playoff, CBS Sports has realized. The bowl stays the lone holdout because the CFP seeks to broaden to 12 groups in 2024, two years earlier than its contract is about to run out.

If the Rose Bowl refuses to acquiesce, the CFP wouldn’t be capable to broaden till 2026, and the Rose Bowl may see itself omitted of the choice course of.

The Rose Bowl has doggedly held on to its demand of kicking off Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET. That time slot is taken into account one of the vital priceless in sports activities tv.

However, in an expanded playoff, all events are starting to comprehend the video games themselves are extra essential than the bowls that host the contests.

The Rose Bowl had proposed internet hosting CFP quarterfinals in 2024 and 2025 — presumably with out their conventional Big Ten and Pac-12 companions — in alternate for retaining its time slot as a part of the CFP’s new media rights contract beginning in 2026, a supply near the state of affairs instructed CBS Sports.

Asked what leverage the Rose Bowl has within the course of, an individual concerned within the CFP course of merely replied, “They have none.”

An ESPN report acknowledged the Rose Bowl had been given an “ultimatum” of Wednesday to decide.

Sources inform CBS Sports a deadline is nearing “where we have to fish or cut bait.” One CFP bowl official mentioned early enlargement can be not possible after this weekend’s convention championship video games amid the frenzy of bowl and playoff season. 

The CFP is within the ninth yr of a 12-year take care of ESPN that expires after the 2025 season. Necessary events have in any other case agreed to broaden to 12 groups and are searching for to take action earlier than the tip of the present ESPN contract. However, the Rose Bowl is the lone occasion holding up the method, which might power enlargement to attend till 2026 and subsequently price the CFP and its companions lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.

All 10 FBS conferences, Notre Dame and the taking part New Year’ Six bowls have already agreed on such points as taking part in at campus websites, dates of video games and income distribution for early enlargement 2024 and 2025. However, settlement to broaden early have to be unanimous. If the Rose Bowl would not agree, one supply mentioned, it’s going to single-handledly have “killed” early enlargement. 

If the Rose Bowl shouldn’t be a part of the CFP after the 2025 season, there are a number of websites that will like to take its place. Destination cities comparable to Charlotte (Duke’s Mayo Bowl), San Antonio (Alamo Bowl), Tampa (Gasparilla Bowl), Las Vegas (Las Vegas Bowl) and Nashville (Music City Bowl) can be prospects.

Over the years, each BCS/CFP scheduling resolution — till now — has accommodated the Rose Bowl with the ability to broadcast its recreation at its most popular time slot. The recreation has historically been scheduled to comply with the Tournament of Roses of Parade. The timing was such that the solar would all the time set within the West over the San Gabriel Mountains in the course of the recreation, thus creating one of the vital iconic settings in American sports activities.

Now that the CFP is able to broaden, its handlers are much less tolerant of assembly the Rose Bowl’s calls for. That 5 p.m. time slot will merely be too priceless sooner or later when — for the primary time — the sensation is that the video games are extra essential than the bowl websites. 

“It’s the equal of Super Bowl Sunday,” mentioned one trade supply of the 5 p.m. time slot. “New Year’s Day is kind of like a Sunday, even if it’s not on a Sunday. Everybody is hung over from New Year’s Eve. They’re sitting back, it’s 5 o’clock. Everybody is done what they need to do. It is the best window that there is.”

The major causes to broaden early are to supply extra playoff entry to groups and rating an additional $450 million per yr from rightsholder ESPN so it may air the extra video games in 2024 and 2025. Whether the playoff expands early or not, a brand new media rights contract shall be signed for 2026 and past. If the Rose Bowl prices the CFP and its companions half 1,000,000 {dollars}, why would they be inclined to incorporate it within the course of going ahead, particularly given they might probably preserve their time slot demand?

It’s not clear what leverage the Rose Bowl believes it holds within the negotiations. That broadcast window is effective, and CFP stakeholders appear fed up with accommodating the Rose Bowl in an association that goes again nearly 1 / 4 century. 

“It’s down to the Rose Bowl. That’s obvious,” one supply with information of the state of affairs instructed CBS Sports. 

There has been no indication how the Big Ten and Pac-12 really feel in regards to the state of affairs, however maybe it is apparent given neither convention is aligned with the Rose Bowl on this matter.

The Rose Bowl started to surrender its exclusivity in 1998, the primary yr of the BCS. Back then, it agreed to finish a steady run of that includes the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions that dated again to 1947. In the BCS settlement, the Rose Bowl surrendered its two spots as soon as each 4 years in a rotation to host the BCS Championship Game. That first occurred after the 2001 season when Miami defeated Nebraska for its final nationwide title. Both faculties on the time talked about how they had been meant to really feel like outsiders after 55 consecutive years of Big Ten vs. Pac-8/10 matchups. 

When the CFP started in 2014, it was assured the Rose Bowl would by no means host a nationwide championship. Los Angeles was constructing the brand new SoFi Stadium, and the town of Pasadena did not have the means to outbid the town of L.A. SoFi will host the 2023 CFP National Championship. Meanwhile, since 2014, the Rose Bowl has hosted CFP semifinals in 2015, 2018 and 2021. 

“The luster of that game goes away [if the Rose doesn’t agree],” mentioned one bowl government exterior the CFP system. Maybe the Rose Bowl simply has to provide in, suck it up.

“It’s just who blinks first.”