Greg Sankey has taken stock of Friday’s news from the College Football Playoff, and revealed in communication with Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated that the league may change its stance.

Sankey said that the league now has to “rethink” its position on CFP expansion. Does that mean his conference might no longer support a 12-team playoff? “It could, yeah,” he says. Sankey, and the SEC, historically has been fine with a 4-team Playoff, but in terms of expansion, it favored the 12-team model.

Sankey on Thursday’s CFP call: “Part of collaboration is we have to give, adjust, be willing to step out. The (presidents) provided a clear message: ‘This is important – get back together and get it done.’ Yet, when we gathered, there was no alteration of position. And so here we are.”

Sankey’s statement came after Playoff leadership announced that expansion will not happen until at least 2026, and the Playoff will stay at 4 teams through the duration of its current contract.

The group could not break an impasse, and so the commissioners decided to abandon efforts to implement a new 12-team format for the 2024 season and recommended staying with the current model to the presidents who oversee the Playoff.

What’s key about Sankey’s message is that unanimous consensus among the management committee members is needed to alter to the current deal.

A proposal for a 12-team playoff has been on the table since June. There was hope initially an agreement could be reached soon enough to have it implemented for the 2024 season, 2 years before the current CFP contract with ESPN expires.

Executive Director Bill Hancock said Friday in a statement that, “Even though the outcome did not lead to a recommendation for an early expansion before the end of the current 12-year contract, the discussions have been helpful and informative,” Hancock said. “I am sure they will serve as a useful guide for the Board of Managers and for the Management Committee as we determine what the playoff will look like beginning in the 2026-2027 season.”