Oct 16, 2026 · 12 min
College football weighs 24-team playoff as sports media shifts
SBJ Morning Buzzcast: October 16, 2026
The episode connects playoff expansion, baseball’s labor stakes, streaming leadership, NBA growth, and broadcasting careers across a changing sports business landscape.
- 1Abe Madkour previews a possible 24-team College Football Playoff while assessing the business logic behind a larger field.
- 2The Dodgers’ failed three-peat raises questions about how MLB’s postseason outcomes could shape collective bargaining negotiations.
- 3Netflix’s leadership changes, NBA expansion in Las Vegas, and Troy Aikman’s future signal continued movement across sports media.
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Madkour compares the Dodgers’ dominant reputation to Darth Vader while reflecting on their failed attempt at a third consecutive World Series title.
The brief
Abe Madkour opens with the possibility of expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, putting the sport’s postseason structure under scrutiny.
The Dodgers’ bid for a third consecutive World Series title failed, undercutting the aura of a team Madkour compares with Darth Vader.
That result carries business implications: the episode considers how MLB’s postseason outcomes may influence collective bargaining negotiations.
The wider sports-media landscape also moves, from Netflix’s new content leadership and NBA expansion in Las Vegas to Troy Aikman’s broadcasting future.
Taken together, the discussion frames sports as an interconnected business in which playoff formats, labor talks, media executives, and talent decisions reinforce one another.
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