College Football Playoff Payouts 2022-2023

Last Updated on November 23, 2022

Revenue for the College Football Playoff is distributed annually according to a pre-determined formula, which is subject to adjustments each year. We update this page annually, so be sure and bookmark it. The current year’s distribution plan is below.

Table Of Contents

Two important things to know about bowl game payouts . . .
How much does a team get for making the College Football Playoff?
Where does the College Football Playoff money go?

2022-2023 College Football Playoff Revenue Distribution Plan
Actual College Football Playoff Payouts for 2021-22
Conference Distribution Policies for College Football Playoff Payouts

Bowl Payouts 2022-23
Historical Bowl Game Payouts by Year

Two important things to know about bowl game payouts . . .

#1 Be aware that funds are distributed directly to conferences (with the exception of Independents), which each have their own rules for distribution to individual member institutions. For example, some conferences distribute evenly between all members while others grant bonuses to the participating team.

See here for an explanation of how College Football Playoff revenue flowed down to the four semifinal teams for the 2018-2019 season.

#2 These amounts do not include payouts from individual bowls that have direct contracts with conferences.

How much does a team get for making the College Football Playoff?

Each conference receives $6 million from the College Football Playoff for each team selected for a semifinal game and $4 million for each team that plays in a non-playoff bowl under the College Football Playoff. There is no additional payout for the National Championship Game, only additional expenses covered.

Where does the College Football Playoff money go?

2022-2023 College Football Playoff Revenue Distribution Plan

According to the College Football Playoff, the following estimates of the CFP revenue distribution are based on preliminary calculations for the 2022-23 season and are only approximate projections of potential revenue distribution from each component:

Each conference will receive $300,000 for each of its schools when the school’s football team meets the NCAA’s APR for participation in a post-season football game. Each independent institution will also receive $300,000 when its football team meets that standard.
A conference will receive $6 million for each team that is selected for the semifinal games. There will be no additional distribution to conferences whose teams qualify for the national championship game. A conference will receive $4 million for each team that plays in a non-playoff bowl under the arrangement.
Each conference whose team participates in a playoff semifinal, Cotton, Fiesta, or Peach Bowl, or in the national championship game will receive $2.74 million to cover expenses for each game. (This is up from $2.63 million in 2021-22.)
Additionally, certain conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision will receive $2.96 million in aggregate. (This is up from $2.85 million in 2021-22.)

Actual College Football Playoff Payouts for 2021-22

Based on calculations from the 2021-22 season, the following distributions were made in the spring of 2022:

Each of the 10 conferences received a base amount. For conferences that have contracts for their champions to participate in the Orange, Rose, or Sugar bowls, the base combined with the full academic performance pool was approximately $74 million for each conference. The five conferences that do not have contacts for their champions to participate in the Orange, Rose or Sugar bowls received approximately $95 million in aggregate (full academic pool plus base). The conferences distribute these funds as they choose. Notre Dame received a payment of $3.55 million by meeting the APR standard; the other three independents shared $1.88 million.

Calculations for 2022-23 will be made following the 2023 National Championship Game.

Conference Distribution Policies for College Football Playoff Payouts

Conferences differ on exactly how they distribute College Football Playoff payouts to their members. Some conferences give participation bonuses–for lack of a better term–to the teams that participate in semifinal and national championship games, while others divide CFP money evenly between members as with all other revenue. The information below was last confirmed January 4, 2022.

ACC: no participation bonus for participating teams.

Big 12: CFP participants receive the higher of Formula A or B.

FORMULA A:

College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship, Semifinal

Participation Subsidy: $2,387,025
Travel Subsidy: $424/one-way mile

FORMULA B:

College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship, Semifinal

Participation Subsidy: $2,015,710
Travel Subsidy: $849/one-way mile

Big Ten: [waiting on confirmation]

Pac-12: no participation bonus for participating teams.

SEC: The SEC gives $2.05 million for each team participating in the semifinals and another $2.15 million for the championship game.

Bowl Payouts 2022-23

Payouts from the 2020-21 season from the College Football Playoff are listed here.

I’ve detailed the conference-by-conference payouts from the College Football Playoff for 2020-21 here.

Bowl	Date	Bowl Matchup	Pay-Out	Fun/Interesting Fact
Bahamas Bowl	12/16/22	CUSA vs MAC	$225,000	The inagural Bahamas Bowl in 2014 was the first major bowl game to be played outside the U.S. and Canada since the Bacardi Bowl in Havanna Cuba January 1, 1937.
Cure Bowl	12/16/22	American, CUSA, MAC, Sunbelt	$573,125	The Cure Bowl is a platform to help raise capital for individual cancer researchers.
Fenway Bowl	12/17/22	ACC vs American	Unannounced	The Fenway Bowl is one of four active bowls that is played in a baseball stadium along with the Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium), the Holiday Bowl (Petco Park), and Guranteed Rate Bowl (Chase Field).
New Mexico Bowl	12/17/22	MWC vs. CUSA, American, Sun Belt or MAC	$1,050,000	The winning trophy is a clay pot sculpted Marcellus and Elizabeth Media from the Zia Pueblo; the Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Player Awards were crafted by another Zia Pueblo artist Ralph Aragon who sculpted the awards as shields.
Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl	12/17/22	MWC #1 vs. PAC-12 #5	Unannounced	The inagural Jimmy Kimmel Bowl in 2021 was the first collegeiate Bowl played in SoFi Stadium; it is the first bowl named after a person.
Cricket Celebration Bowl	12/17/2022	MEAC vs. SWAC	$2,000,000	ESPN partners with The 100 Black Men of Atlanta to manage the game’s ancillary events, which include a Youth Symposium, Robotics Showcase, Gospel Night and Fan Experience.
LendingTree Bowl	12/17/2022	MAC, Sunbelt, or CUSA	$1,500,000	The mission of the LendingTree Bowl is to advance tourism and economic impact, provide educational and athletic opportunities to the youth of Mobile.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl	12/17/2022	SEC vs. Pac-12	$2,900,000	The Las Vegas Bowl is now the 16th-oldest game overall and ranks No. 13 in age on a list of current bowls that have remained in one city during their entire history.
Frisco Bowl	12/17/2022	American Athletic Conference, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West Conference, or Sun Belt	$650,000	The Frisco Bowl is held at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas which is also the home stadium for FC Dallas and the location of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Myrtle Beach Bowl	12/19/2022	MAC, CUSA, or Sun Belt	Unannounced	The Myrtle Beach Bowl will be played at Brooks Stadium, located on the campus of Coastal Carolina.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	12/20/2022	Mountain West vs. MAC	$800,000	The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is the longest-running cold weather bowl game in college football.
Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl	12/20/2022	CUSA, MAC, American Athletic Conference, Sun Belt, Mountain West, or Liberty University	$900,000	This game is played at FAU stadium and is the only stadium that has views of the Atlantic Ocean.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	12/21/2022	Sun Belt v. CUSA	$825,000	Game day activities include Dashing through the Dome, a two-mile race through the Superdome.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl	12/22/2022	At-large vs. At-large	$1,350,000	More than 40 military non-profits participate in providing free information and services to help veterans during the tailgate.
Radiance Technologies Indepndence Bowl	12/23/2022	Army West Point vs. American Athletic Conference	$2,200,000	Every current member of the SEC except Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky has appeared in the game.
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl	12/23/2022	AAC, ACC, Big 12, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC, independent programs, BYU, or Army	$1,125,000	Bowl based on the legend of pirate José Gaspar, who allegedly terrorized Florida’s west coast for over four decades.
Easypost Hawai’i Bowl	12/24/2022	Mountain West v. CUSA	$1,200,000	This will be the first bowl game since 2020, as last year the bowl had to be cancelled due to issues with COVID.
Quick Lane Bowl	12/26/2022	Big 10, MAC, or ACC	$2,000,000	The Detroit Lions, who host the Quick Lane Bowl, is the only professional team to own and operate a bowl game.
Camellia Bowl	12/27/2022	Sun Belt vs. MAC	$300,000	This bowl was named after the Alabama state flower, the Camellia.
Servpro First Responder Bowl	12/27/2022	American, ACC, Big 12	$824,545	This bowl honors first responders, which include: police officers, firefighters, EMS workers, correctional officers, search and rescue, dispatchers, secuirty guards federal agents, border patrol agents, and military personal, who are the first to arrive and provide emergency assistance.
Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl	12/27/2022	SEC vs. American	$1,374,545	The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl was one of seven bowls to sell out in 2021, and it was the first sell-out in that bowl game.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	12/27/2022	Big Ten vs. Big 12	$1,625,560	The football game is played in an MLB ballpark in downtown Pheonix.
Military Bowl Presented by Peraton	12/28/2022	ACC vs. American	$2,066,990	Proceeds from the bowl, in addition to supporting the USO, also go to Patriot Point which is the Military Bowl Foundation’s 294-acre retreat for wounded, ill and injured service members, their families and caregivers.
Autozone Liberty Bowl	12/28/2022	Big 12 vs. SEC	$4,700,000	The AutoZone liberty bowl is the seventh oldest college bowl game.
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl	12/28/2022	PAC-12 vs. ACC	$6,532,700	This is the only bowl game to have a credit union as a title sponsor.
Taxact Texas Bowl	12/28/2022	Big 12 vs. SEC	$6,400,000	Taxact recently renewed its title spondsorship of the bowl in a multi-year contract with ESPN Events.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl	12/29/2022	ACC vs. Big Ten	$4,400,000	The bowl is played on Kentucky Bluegrass at Yankee stadium.
Cheez-It Bowl	12/29/2022	ACC vs. Big 12	$6,071,760	The bowl was originally called the Blockbuster bowl when it was founded in 1990. During the inaugural bowl, Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon completed 22-of-36 passes for 248 yards to lead the Seminoles to a 24-17 win over Penn State.
Valero Alamo Bowl	12/29/2022	Big 12 vs. PAC-12	$8,252,740	In the 30 years that the bowl has been hosted, the combined economic impact of the bowl has been over $950 million, and the contribution to higher education has been over $120 million with the team payouts and scholarships.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	12/30/2022	ACC vs. Big Ten	$4,780,461	In 2021, from September to December, over 755,000 jars of Duke’s Mayo were sold in Charlotte. Because of these sales, a check totaling $15,378 was presented to the NC Hospitality Workers Relief Fund during the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last year.
Tony the Tiger Bowl	12/30/2022	ACC vs. PAC-12	$4,550,000	In the last 86 years of the bowl being played, the bowl has hosted 78 different programs which is more than any other bowl’s history.
Taxslayer Gator Bowl	12/30/2022	SEC vs. ACC	$5,350,000	Sixth oldest college bowl game and the first ever to be televised nationally coast-to-coast.
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl	12/30/2022	MWC vs. MAC	$350,000	The first bowl game streamed on Barstool Sports.
Capital One Orange Bowl	12/30/2022	ACC vs. SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame	Contract Bowl	The University of Oklahoma has the most Orange Bowl appearances.
Transperfect Music City Bowl	12/31/2022	Big Ten vs. SEC	$5,700,000	The first Music City Bowl was played at Vanderbilt University’s stadium in 1998.
Allstate Sugar Bowl	12/31/2022	SEC vs. Big 12	Contract Bowl	The first Sugar Bowl game was held in Tulane Stadium in 1902.
Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl (Semifinal)	12/31/2022	Playoff Committee Places Teams	CFB Revenue Pool	The Peach Bowl originated as a fund-raiser for the Lions Clubs of Georgia.
VRBO Fiesta Bowl (Semifinal)	12/31/2022	Semifinal Site – Playoff Committee Places Teams	CFB Revenue Pool	At the end of the 2007 game, Boise State running back Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend; she said yes.
Reliaquest Bowl	1/2/2023	SEC or Big Ten vs. ACC	$6,400,000	Iowa and Michigan are tied for the most appearances for the Reliaquest Bowl.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic	1/2/2023	Playoff Committee Places Teams	Contract Bowl	TCU won the first Cotton bowl in the 1936-1937 season.
Citrus Bowl	1/2/2023	Big Ten vs. SEC	$8,224,578	Nicknamed “Little Bowl with the Big Heart,” given all the proceeds from the game went to charity.
Rose Bowl	1/2/2023	Semifinal Site – Playoff Committee Places Teams	Contract Bowl	Nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All,” it is the oldest bowl game.
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T (SoFi Stadium)	1/9/2023	Peach winner vs. Fiesta winner	CFB Revenue Pool	Nick Saban has reached the College Football Playoff National Champtionship the most with six appearances.