Making the playoffs is the quintessential goal for many sports teams. In college football, the playoffs are a battleground for glory, legacy and honor; however, they also create lucrative opportunities for programs.
The College Football Playoff (CFP) receives over $1.3 billion from its media rights with ESPN alone. For programs, the real money comes from making, and advancing, within the playoffs.
The CFP awards $4 million to the conferences of qualifying teams and another $4 million for reaching the quarterfinals. The winnings jump to $6 million for making the semifinals, plus an additional $6 million for competing in the national championship.
Conferences then determine what to do with the lump sum paid to them based on the number of member teams that competed in the playoffs.
The SEC’s distribution method gives $3 million to each program that makes the first round, $3.5 million for the quarterfinals, $3.75 million for the semifinals and $4 million for the national championship.
This equates to each school receiving a 75% cut for the first round, a 87.5% cut for the quarterfinals, a 62.5% cut for the semifinals and a 66.67% cut for the championship game. The remaining money from each round is then split among all the other SEC schools.
Independent schools like Notre Dame receive all of this money directly because they do not belong to a conference to take a cut of the winnings.
Even though Ole Miss will not receive the full $20 million if they make the national championship, any amount of earnings would be helpful, even if it is just $3 million for making the first round. This money can go toward recruiting top high school players or acquiring talented transfers in the portal.
Another major source of revenue comes from hosting a playoff game — money which assists host schools and the surrounding areas.
Hotels and lodging are always a considerable expense. However, with the playoff games happening over Dec. 19-20, these prices have been even more astronomical due to their proximity to Christmas.
There are only a little over 900 hotel rooms within Oxford. This, coupled with the holiday demand and the novelty of Ole Miss’ first playoff berth ever, prices could soar.
Many hotels’ prices have soared with many rooms going for hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. Even chain hotels like Hampton Inn and TownPlace Suites have rooms going for over $800 and over $1,200, respectively. Other hotels have been completely sold out, such as The Graduate and the Inn. Hotel rates surge during important events in Oxford, such as graduation weekend.
General manager at The Graduate Troy Dixon and his staff were cautiously optimistic about a playoff game this season.
“We’re pretty close to booked out. As the season was going along we had looked at these dates (and) had kind of had them circled on the calendar as potential (home playoff games),” Dixon said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian.
For Dixon, this particular game is no different than a regular season conference game.
“The demand is pretty close to all the games. Obviously, the rivalry conference games, the demand is through the roof,” Dixon said. “Tulane is in the playoffs, but Tulane is no LSU or Alabama.”
Data from Visit Oxford shows that during the 2024-25 football season, fans who visited Oxford the weekend Ole Miss played Georgia generated $71.7 million in total economic impact on the city. A home playoff game may eclipse that number, if not shatter it.
Mayor Robyn Tannehill commented on the potential of the upcoming playoff game to impact the city in varied ways.
“A lot of people aren’t trying to go on a vacation the weekend before Christmas,” Tannehill said. “So if it’s a 2:30 game, we’re going to have people that drive in and leave, and we won’t have as many hotel rooms stay. That will affect the economic impact.”
Outside of the finances, CFP appearances can have major, sometimes crippling, effects on programs.
Washington made the national championship in 2023, but after their loss, head coach Kalen DeBoer leveraged this success and took the head coaching job at Alabama. Star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and wide receiver Rome Odunze were selected in the NFL Draft. Nearly half of the Husky team either departed for the pros or transferred to other programs.
Now, two seasons later, Washington is only a middle-of-the-pack Big 10 team.
With respect to Ole Miss, there has already been major upheaval within the program with Kiffin and several offensive assistants leaving for LSU. Further effects from a far playoff run remain unknown.
