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    College Football Playoff National Championship Tickets

    Jan. 25, 2027 · Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas · host rotates yearly

    The last game of the college football season, played on a Monday night in January at a different NFL stadium each year.

    By the Good Seats editorial teamUpdated How we research
    Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV
    Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Upcoming College Football Playoff National Championship dates

    Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.

    What the national championship game is

    The College Football Playoff National Championship is the final game of the major-college football season, matching the two winners of the playoff semifinals. It is played on a Monday night in January at a neutral NFL-size stadium that changes every year. The next game is set for Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with a scheduled 7:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff on ESPN.

    Unlike the semifinals and quarterfinals, which are hosted by traditional bowls such as the Rose, Sugar and Orange, the title game is not a bowl. The College Football Playoff organization runs it directly and awards it to a host city through a bid process. The first game was played in January 2015, when Ohio State beat Oregon 42–20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The most recent, in January 2026, saw Indiana beat Miami 27–21 at Hard Rock Stadium to finish the first 16–0 season in FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) history.

    How the 12-team playoff works

    Starting with the 2024 season, the playoff expanded from four teams to 12. A 13-member selection committee ranks the teams and seeds the bracket. As of the 2025 season, the field included the five highest-ranked conference champions plus seven at-large teams, and the four highest-ranked teams overall received first-round byes. Changes to automatic bids have been reported for the 2026 season, so check the current format before the bracket is released in December.

    • First round: Seeds 5 through 12 play in mid-December at the higher seed's campus or a site of its choosing. In the 2026–27 cycle these games are set for December 18 and 19.
    • Quarterfinals: Four New Year's Six bowls host the quarterfinals around New Year's Day. The Rose Bowl always hosts one on January 1.
    • Semifinals: Two more New Year's Six bowls host the semifinals in early-to-mid January; for the 2027 title, the Orange and Sugar bowls hold them on January 14 and 15.
    • Championship: The two semifinal winners meet about 10 days later.

    The expanded bracket matters for ticket buyers: a team may play three or four playoff games before the final, so traveling fans are spending heavily on earlier rounds. The finalists are known only about 10 days before kickoff.

    How host cities are chosen and where the game goes next

    Cities bid for the championship much as they bid for the NCAA Final Four. The stadium must hold at least 65,000, and a city cannot host a semifinal and the championship in the same season. Every game so far has been played in an NFL stadium, most of them domed or in warm-weather markets.

    Past hosts include Arlington, Glendale, Tampa, Atlanta (twice), Santa Clara, New Orleans, Miami Gardens (twice), Indianapolis, Inglewood and Houston. Attendance has generally run in the mid-70,000s, with a high of 85,788 at the first game in Arlington and a COVID-limited crowd of 14,926 in January 2021.

    How title-game tickets are sold: face value vs. resale

    The championship has an unusual ticket structure, and understanding it explains why the resale market moves the way it does.

    • School allocations. According to the CFP, the majority of tickets go to the two participating schools, which sell them directly at face value (the printed price), typically through their own priority systems for donors, season-ticket holders and students.
    • Reservations before the matchup. The CFP offers a reservation product, CFP RSVP, that lets fans lock in the right to buy a ticket for a specific team before the finalists are known; the reservation pays off only if that team qualifies.
    • Premium packages. Suites and hospitality packages are sold separately by the CFP's premium program.
    • Resale. Everything else trades on the secondary market, where prices are set by supply and demand rather than face value.

    The result is a market with little inventory and a short fuse. Resale listings exist well before the matchup, but prices react sharply once the semifinals end: two programs with large, well-traveled fan bases push prices up, while a matchup involving a smaller or distant school can soften them. Some fans who bought through their school decide late not to travel, so supply can increase in the final days. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee.

    Where to sit at Allegiant Stadium for the 2027 game

    Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020 as the home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders and also hosts UNLV and the Las Vegas Bowl. It seats about 65,000 for football, expandable to about 72,000, under a fixed translucent roof, so the January game is played indoors. Seating is organized as a 100-level lower bowl, a 200 suite and loge level, and upper 300 and 400 levels.

    • Lower-level sideline seats are the most sought-after and usually the most expensive in the building.
    • Middle and upper rows of the lower bowl offer a better angle on the whole field than the first rows behind the benches.
    • Each school's fans tend to cluster around its own team's sideline and its allocation blocks, so the side you buy on shapes the experience.
    • Upper-level sideline seats are the value pick and see the whole field clearly; upper end zone seats are the cheapest and most distant.

    As of 2026, Allegiant Stadium enforces a clear-bag policy (clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, or a small clutch), sells parking in advance only and is cashless. Check the stadium's event page for current rules before you go.

    Planning the trip

    Fans have about 10 days between the semifinals and the championship to book travel, and host-city hotels tighten as soon as the finalists are known. A few practical points:

    • Book refundable travel early if your team is still alive; it is easier to cancel a room than to find one after the semifinals.
    • Expect a Monday night game and a late finish, with return travel on Tuesday.
    • In Las Vegas, the stadium is about a mile west of the Strip across I-15; many fans walk over the Hacienda Avenue bridge or ride the Regional Transportation Commission's Game Day Express buses, which have served Raiders games.
    • Check the CFP site in January for the host city's fan events and game-week schedule.

    Frequently asked questions

    When and where is the 2027 College Football Playoff National Championship?

    Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with a scheduled 7:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff on ESPN.

    Where will future championship games be played?

    The CFP has announced New Orleans (Caesars Superdome) for 2028, Tampa (Raymond James Stadium) for 2029 and Miami Gardens (Hard Rock Stadium) for 2030.

    How many teams are in the College Football Playoff?

    Twelve, since the 2024 season. Seeds 5 through 12 play first-round games on campus, the top four seeds receive byes, and the New Year's Six bowls host the quarterfinals and semifinals.

    How do participating schools sell championship tickets?

    The CFP allocates most tickets to the two finalists, which sell them directly, typically to their own donors, season-ticket holders and students. Remaining demand is met on the resale market.

    When do championship ticket prices change most?

    Right after the semifinals, when the two finalists are known. Matchups between programs with large traveling fan bases push resale prices up, and added supply in the final days can bring them down.

    Is the 2027 championship game indoors?

    Yes. Allegiant Stadium has a fixed translucent roof and is climate controlled.

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