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College Football Playoff Team's Massive $14 Million Payout Grabs Attention After Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Adams | Last updated Jan 2, 2025 8:19 PM ET

One College Football Playoff team is earning a significant amount of money when compared to the other contenders thanks to an interesting rule. Just four teams remain as college football is one step closer to crowning a champion.

The No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions are a 1.5-point underdog against the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl matchup, per FanDuel. The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes are 5.5-point favorites versus the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.

College Football Playoff rules have each team who makes the postseason earn a payout for their respective conferences. Yet, Notre Dame is able to keep the entire $14 million earned for the team's trip to the semifinals thanks to the program's status as an independent, per Front Office Sports.

"Every team that made the College Football Playoff semi-final has earned $14M in payouts for their conferences," Front Office Sports detailed on X on Thursday. "As an independent, Notre Dame's win over Georgia just put the Fighting Irish at $14M, too—all for themselves."

By being Independent vs B1G Conference Member, Notre Dame earned $3.7M more than Indiana for making the CFB Playoff. https://t.co/SV9bluuQtf pic.twitter.com/HraDbHak8e
— NDFanatics (@FanaticsNd) December 31, 2024

There is a downside to the Irish not being part of a conference. The highest seed that Notre Dame can earn is No. 5 which means Notre Dame will never be able to earn a first-round bye in the current format. The top four seeds are reserved for the highest ranked conference champions.

Yet, Notre Dame's gamble in staying independent is paying off in a major way during the College Football Playoff's inaugural season with 12 teams.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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