Pat McAfee’s kicking contest has become one of the most recognizable parts of ESPN’s College GameDay. Every Saturday, a college student gets a few seconds to turn an ordinary field goal into a life-changing payday. The format looks simple on television. The pressure is anything but. One student felt it in Oxford on Saturday morning.
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James Whitehead, an Ole Miss finance major from Pennsylvania, stepped onto the field with a $1 million prize waiting for him. He told McAfee that he had never kicked a football before. His only real preparation came from calling a kicker back home for a few tips. Then he did something the previous contestants could not.
“Now I must say,” McAfee said to Whitehead before the kick. “We can’t be doing multiple kicks whenever there’s one million dollars under life. If this guy misses, no second chance.”
His preparation was hardly conventional. McAfee asked whether he had ever kicked before. Whitehead said no. He had played soccer and described himself as decent at it before a concussion ended that part of his playing career. Herbstreit then asked another question that suddenly became relevant. Had Whitehead ever kicked a ball barefoot?
He had. He had just never tried it with a football, though. Whitehead lined up for the attempt and kicked the ball 33 yards through the uprights. McAfee called it “the best kick we have ever seen.” The Ole Miss crowd erupted as McAfee celebrated the student becoming a millionaire.
Even if he had missed, it was likely that McAfee and Herbstreit would have given Whitehead another go. Usually, the crowd gets into the whole affair and demands a retake. In most cases, McAfee obliges. But Whitehead didn’t need any second chance. One take was enough for him to claim the prize money.
The moment pushed the reported cumulative value of McAfee’s GameDay kicking prizes and charitable money to roughly $8.2 million, using the approximately $6 million associated with the first three seasons and the $2.2 million put into the 2026 contest through the Ole Miss show. There’s a catch, though.
McAfee does not have to carry the full cost of the contest this season. Home Depot now matches his contribution each week. He had already spent more than $6 million of his own money on prizes and charity during the first three seasons. The new deal cuts his share while keeping the prize money high.
The first weekend in Baton Rouge showed how fast that money can go. LSU freshman Bruce Morello got a chance to win $1 million after McAfee put up $500,000 and Home Depot matched it. Morello missed his first try from 33 yards. He then received another opportunity, with $500,000 still available, but missed again. Texas produced a very different story the following week.
Connor Kecena-Merrell missed his first $1 million attempt in Austin. McAfee then allowed another kick, and the prize eventually climbed to $1.2 million after Kirk Herbstreit and Matthew McConaughey each added $100,000. Kecena-Merrell made the second kick and split the $1.2 million between himself and charity. That made Whitehead’s situation unusual.