At least 14 cities are considering whether to bid for the 2018, 2019 or 2020 College Football Playoff championship games, sources told ESPN.
Of the 14, seven already have decided to bid. Atlanta; Charlotte; Jacksonville, Florida; South Florida; Minneapolis and San Antonio will bid, sources told ESPN, while the Associated Press reported that Santa Clara, California, also will bid.
The deadline to turn in the College Football Playoff's request for proposal for the championship games is late May. The College Football Playoff will announce which cities bid to host the games by the end of May.
The three championship sites are expected to be announced in October.
Sources said at least seven cities that received the RFPs remain undecided on whether to bid on the next cycle of title games: Arlington, Texas; Houston; Indianapolis; New Jersey/New York; New Orleans; Orlando, Florida; and Pasadena, California.
South Florida, which will host a 2019 semifinal, will bid on the 2018 and 2020 national title games, an Orange Bowl spokesman said. Minneapolis will bid on the 2019 and 2020 title games, a spokeswoman with Sports Minneapolis said.
AT&T Stadium in Arlington hosted the first College Football Playoff title game between Ohio State and Oregon in January. The next two title games have been awarded to Glendale, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida. Arlington remains undecided on whether to pursue the next round of title games, but officials from both Arizona and Tampa said they would not bid on the next three title games.
Arizona will host this season's championship at University of Phoenix Stadium on Jan. 11, 2016.
"We're focused entirely on delivering the best championship game in history," Arizona Organizing Committee co-chair Brad Wright said. "We look forward to bidding in a future cycle."
Tampa will host the College Football Playoff's third title game at Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 9, 2017. Tampa was the first city to get the college football title game that is not part of the playoff's New Year's Six bowls.
"At this time, our focus is to deliver a world-class College Football National Championship in 2017, rather than bidding in this current cycle," Tampa Bay sports commission executive director Rob Higgins said. "Creating a lasting impression in our community's first opportunity to host will be the biggest statement we could make for getting the chance to host again in the near future."
The Rose Bowl, which did not bid for any of the first three championship games, is undecided whether it will bid on the 2019 or 2020 title games. The Rose Bowl will host a semifinal after the 2017 regular season, so it cannot host the 2018 title game.
"We are in the process of reviewing the RFP and speaking with other stakeholders in the Southern California area," a Rose Bowl spokeswoman said. "We hope to reach a decision on bidding in the near future."
The 2018 title game will be preceded by semifinal games at the Rose and Sugar bowls. The 2019 title game will feature semifinals at the Orange and Cotton bowls. And the 2020 title game will have semifinals at the Fiesta and Peach bowls.
ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.