The first obvious advantage is that if Notre Dame is a top four seed it will only have to win three games to win a national championship. Notre Dame won three games in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff, beating Indiana (27-17), Georgia (23-10) and Penn State (27-24), but those victories simply got the Irish to the national title game.

Under the new arrangement, the four top-ranked conference champions will still receive $8 million for their leagues — representing the $4 million they earn for making the playoff and $4 million for a...