What is the Super League in college football? New details about proposed project explored

While conference realignment has dominated the college football world for several seasons, a Super League has been proposed. The league would reportedly include 70 permanent members, split evenly across seven conferences, and 10 additional programs that would rotate annually via relegation and promotion.

Brandon Marcello of 247 Sports shared more details about the proposal, tweeting:

"The Super League proposal, per @sportico : - 70 teams in 10 divisions - 10 teams in "Under League," with 8 relegated each year - 14-game regular season - 16-team Playoff with ability to expand to 24 - "Spring festival" with 40 games in April - NIL salary cap - Players paid via TV money distribution - 85-man roster with 70 scholarships - Can sign 10 transfers per window - Players can transfer twice in 5-year window."

Check out Brandon Marcello's tweet below:

Daniel Libit and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico shared more details about the proposed 'Under League Division', saying:

"The eighth division comprises 10 schools from what the deck calls the “Under League,” the rest of the teams in college football’s top tier. That division rotates every year—eight of the 10 are relegated each season and replaced by the eight teams that play in the Under League’s playoff. The rest of the Under League is organized in eight different divisions of seven teams, which are not detailed in the deck." [h/t Sportico]

The proposed Super League would make college football more similar to professional sports. It is unclear if the package, which would launch in February 2027, if approved, will pick up steam.

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What would be the biggest obstacle for the proposed Super League?

The proposed Super League would face plenty of challenges, however, there is unlikely to be any obstacle bigger than the existing conferences' television deals. Daniel Libit and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico discussed this, saying:

"It purports to do away with the traditional conference structure at a time when the SEC and Big Ten are consolidating both power and money. Furthermore, the top college conferences all have existing media deals that run through at least the next five years, and all the leagues recently signed off on a six-year, $7.8 billion extension with ESPN to cover an expanded College Football Playoff." [h/t Sportico]

It is unlikely that the universities earning the most from their existing television rights deals will look to leave such a lucrative pact. Furthermore, it is unlikely that ESPN would get behind such a move as they would still be on the hook for their College Football Playoff pact.