College Football Playoff Payouts: 2014-2020

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The first six years of the College Football Playoff saw it distribute $2.7 billion to FBS conferences and independents. As was the tradition under the Bowl Championship Series, FCS conferences receive annual fixed payouts as well.

The majority of College Football Playoff revenue distributed is allocated as fixed fees that are not dependent on performance or berths in the semifinals, contract bowls or access bowls. Check out my 2020-21 conference-by-conference breakdown for an example.

College Football Playoff Payouts from 2014-2020 by Conference

Here are the totals by conference for the first six years of the College Football Playoff (from the 2014-15 season to 2019-20):

CONFERENCETOTAL
Southeastern Conference$452,329,310
Atlantic Coast Conference$415,026,040
Big Ten Conference$414,478,180
Big 12 Conference$410,816,228
Pac-12 Conference$406,003,943
American Athletic Conference$138,376,487
Mountain West Conference$116,587,690
Mid-American Conference$99,547,896
Conference USA$92,863,191
Sun Belt Conference$91,812,887
Notre Dame University$31,300,962
Brigham Young University$1,859,785
U.S. Military Academy$1,859,785
Big Sky Conference$1,598,581
Big South Conference$1,598,581
Colonial Conference$1,598,581
Mid-Eastern Conference$1,598,581
Missouri Valley Conference$1,598,581
Ohio Valley Conference$1,598,581
Southern Conference$1,598,581
Southland Conference$1,598,581
Southwestern Conference$1,598,581
University of Massachusetts$1,242,845
Patriot League$536,965
Liberty University$310,396
New Mexico State University$310,396
U.S. Naval Academy$307,544
TOTAL$2,689,957,756

Although the majority of the payouts each year are predetermined regardless of performance (see last year’s payout plan), schools who make the semifinals receive $6 million each and schools selected for access bowls receive $4 million each. The only additional monies for playing in the title game are for expenses. Accordingly, those with the most appearances have the edge when it comes to total payouts over the years.

Appearances in the College Football Playoff Semifinals by conference 2014-2020:

SEC7
ACC6
Big Ten4
Big 124
Pac-122
Notre Dame1

Annual College Football Playoff Payouts by Conference

You can see conference-by-conference breakdowns of actual payouts for each year here:

2020-21 College Football Playoff Payouts 

2019-20 College Football Playoff Payouts 

2018-19 College Football Playoff Payouts 

2017-18 College Football Playoff Payouts 

2016-17 College Football Playoff Payouts 

2015-16 College Football Playoff Payouts 

2014-15 College Football Playoff Payouts 

Author

  • Kristi Dosh

    Kristi A. Dosh is the founder of BusinessofCollegeSports.com and has served as a sports business analyst and contributor for outlets such as Forbes, ESPN, SportsBusiness Journal, Bleacher Report, SB Nation and more. She is also the author of a book on the business of college football, Saturday Millionaires. Kristi is a sought-after consultant and speaker on topics related to the business of college sports and a former practicing attorney. Click to learn more

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