How much has Miami football made in CFP? Hurricanes' ACC payout, explained

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Though its inclusion in the College Football Playoff initially was seen as controversial, Miami football has made the most of its opportunity in the 12-team bracket.

Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes team has put together one of the more impressive CFP runs in recent history, pulling off three consecutive upsets over No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Ole Miss to get to the national championship game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Hurricanes are playing in their first national championship since they lost in the 2003 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game to Ohio State. While it’s just the second year of the expanded CFP, Miami is the second straight team in the 12-team era to make the national championship game as an eight seed or lower.

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A win against No. 1 Indiana in the 2026 CFP Championship would give Miami wins over the Nos. 1, 2, 6, and 7 seeds this postseason. It would also bring the first national championship to Coral Gables in over two decades, and the first to the ACC since Clemson won the title for the 2018 season.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, Miami’s run has also brought significant financial boosts to its athletic department.

Here’s what you need to know on how much Miami has made by appearing in the College Football Playoff this season, and how much the Hurricanes have accumulated by getting to the national championship game:

How much money has Miami made in College Football Playoff?

Over the course of its run to the national championship game, Miami has made $20 million in performance bonuses for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff.

Carson Beck’s 3-yard go-ahead touchdown in the CFP Fiesta Bowl semifinal vs. Ole Miss helped the Hurricanes pocket $6 million just for making it to Hard Rock Stadium for the national championship game. That $6 million payout came after they had already made $6 million for making the national semifinal game.

While it is normal for teams and conferences that compete in the CFP to receive financial payouts, what is unusual with the Hurricanes’ situation is that the ACC is giving Miami the entire pool of money. The ACC confirmed with USA TODAY Sports that the reason the Hurricanes are receiving the full payout is because of the conference’s success incentive initiative — compared to an equal-distribution model —that began last year.

Under the ACC’s success incentive initiative, it states that the “implementation of the success incentives will come solely from the performance of teams in revenue-generating postseason competition.” So, because the Hurricanes are the lone ACC team in the CFP this season, they receive the full pot of money. Last season, Clemson and SMU both received $4 million for making the CFP, as both the Tigers and Mustangs lost in the first round.

As noted by Front Office Sports, the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences both share distributions earned equally among their membership, while the SEC has a hybrid model for CFP payouts. In addition, CBS Sports reported that Miami has received $32 million for its CFP run, including $12 million for travel expenses.

“We do have to take our expenses out of that $32 million that you mentioned. It is a long way from Miami to Phoenix, to Dallas (and) to College Station. At the end of the day, the university has invested a lot of money in our athletic program. We’d have to do this multiple times to even scratch the surface to repair their investment,” Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich told ESPN’s David Hale and Andrea Adelson on the “Inside ACCess” podcast on how the Hurricanes plan to use that money.

“They do see this as a great return that we’ve able to pull together. We will continue to use these dollars to make our athletic program better.”

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Miami football-College Football Playoff payout details

Here’s a full breakout of the Hurricanes’ CFP postseason bonus payout:

  • $4 million for qualifying for the CFP
  • $4 million for reaching the quarterfinals
  • $6 million for reaching the semifinals
  • $6 million for reaching the national championship

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Miami football path to national championship, CFP results

Here’s a game-by-game breakdown of how the Hurricanes got themselves to the national championship:

  • CFP first round: No. 10 Miami 10, No. 7 Texas A&M 3
  • CFP Cotton Bowl quarterfinal: No. 10 Miami 24, No. 2 Ohio State 14
  • CFP Fiesta Bowl semifinal: No. 10 Miami 31, No. 6 Ole Miss 27

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How much has Miami made in CFP? Hurricanes pocketing $20 million

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