The College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy is the trophy awarded to the winner of the College Football Playoff (CFP), the postseason tournament in American college football that determines a national champion for the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). It is currently held by the Indiana Hoosiers, who won the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship to cap the 2025 season.
Design The , trophy is oblong-shaped like a football at the base, tapering up to a flattened full-size football at the top. It is made of 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel, with the bulk of the trophy gold-colored and the football at the top a gray metallic color. The football's four laces represent the four playoff teams of the CFP's original four-team format used from 2014 to 2023, although the tournament was expanded to include 12 teams starting in 2024.
The trophy is separate from its 12-inch-tall bronze base, so it can be hoisted. The base is finished in black patina and weighs 30 pounds (13.61 kg). Dr Pepper sponsors the trophy. The company originally came to an agreement with ESPN in 2014 to pay $35 million per year for sponsorship rights through the 2020 season; the two companies agreed to a contract extension in 2018 (the financial details of which have not been disclosed), allowing Dr Pepper to retain sponsorship rights through the 2026 College Football Playoff. The trophy was unveiled on July 14, 2014.Eric Prisbell, College Football Playoff national championship trophy unveiled, USA Today, July 14, 2014
The trophy was designed by design firm Pentagram and crafted by the Polich Tallix fine art foundry of Rock Tavern, New York.
College Football Playoff officials commissioned the trophy for the new playoff system, preferring a new award that was unconnected with the previous Bowl Championship Series (BCS) postseason system which was sometimes controversial. Winners of the BCS National Championship Game were awarded the AFCA "crystal football" trophy through the 2013 season.
Winners Season Winner Championship game Game location 2014 Ohio State Ohio State 42, Oregon 20 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas 2015 Alabama Alabama 45, Clemson 40 University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona 2016 Clemson Clemson 35, Alabama 31 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida2017AlabamaAlabama 26, Georgia 23 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia2018ClemsonClemson 44, Alabama 16Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California2019LSULSU 42, Clemson 25Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana2020AlabamaAlabama 52, Ohio State 24Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida2021GeorgiaGeorgia 33, Alabama 18Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana2022GeorgiaGeorgia 65, TCU 7SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California2023MichiganMichigan 34, Washington 13NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas2024Ohio StateOhio State 34, Notre Dame 23Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia2025IndianaIndiana 27, Miami 21Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
By team
Team Number Season(s) Alabama 3 2015, 2017, 2020 Clemson 2 2016, 2018 Georgia 2 2021, 2022 Ohio State 2 2014, 2024 Indiana 1 2025 LSU 1 2019 Michigan 1 2023
References