With a lot of mixed emotions, the first round of the College Football Playoff ended in dramatic style this weekend. Four schools, Alabama, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Miami, advanced to the CFP quarterfinals after surviving the first round. It’s not just a win; the programs also generated some revenue. Here’s a complete breakdown of the prize money: the CFP first-round winners get paid their total earnings.

CFP First Round Winners Payouts (2025-2026)

According to the CFP revenue distribution scheme, a College football team that wins the first-round games will earn $4 million for their conference for reaching the CFP quarterfinal. Since the top four-ranked CFP teams receive a first-round bye, earning a direct spot in the quarterfinals, they will also receive a $4 million payment.

On the other hand, each college football program will earn $4 million for its conference for qualifying for the Playoffs. Since the College Football Playoff involves 12 teams, each school receives a base payment of $4 million.

Adding that to the CFP first-round winners’ earnings, the top 4 seeds (Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech) and the CFP first-round winners (Oregon, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Miami) will be paid $8 million for reaching the CFP quarterfinals.

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With that being said, the SEC will be paid the most by the end of the first round games: $32 million, since five teams got featured in the Playoff, and three made it to the Quarterfinals (Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss). The Big Ten conference would have earned $24 million to cover the expenses of Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon.

Whereas ACC and Big 12 will be paid $8 million each by the end of the first-round games, as one team from each conference remains. On the other hand, AAC and SBC will receive $4 million each, as one school from each conference advanced to the playoffs.

CFP Quarterfinals Winners Prize Money

The four teams that win the CFP quarterfinals will receive $6 million for their conference. Totaling the previous $8 million they’ve earned for reaching quarterfinals, the four schools will earn $14 million for their conference.

With that being said, the winner of the Cotton Bowl (Ohio State or Miami), Rose Bowl (Texas Tech or Oregon), Rose Bowl (Indiana or Alabama), and Sugar Bowl (Georgia or Ole Miss) will be adding $6 million to their Conference funding for reaching the Semifinals.

Prize Money for making it to the National Championship Game

The two teams that will play for the National Championship game will collect an additional $6 million. Calculating the overall earnings, the final two teams will earn $20 million, guaranteed to their respective conference. As per previous formats, these payouts are made to the schools’ conferences, which are then distributed as funds according to their internal revenue-sharing policies.

Do Conferences get paid for covering expenses?

Yes, the conference will receive $3 million per team that qualifies for the College Football Playoff to cover expenses for each round. If a team reaches the finals, they will be provided with $12 million to cover total expenses, including travel, accommodation, operations, and other costs.