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Florida A&M received a large payday for its Thursday night football game against No. 7 Miami—$760,000 in exchange for a 77–7 defeat, or nearly $10,000 per point given up.
The Rattlers athletics program will receive $720,000 and the school’s band, the Marching 100, will receive the other $40,000 according to a records request by the Tallahassee Democrat.
As if facing last season’s national runner-up wasn’t challenging enough, Florida A&M played the Hurricanes on a short week. The Rattlers lost a 31–13 contest to South Carolina State on Sunday, then played Miami three days later. The expected lopsided result got so out of hand that with a 77–0 score with 3:31 remaining in the third quarter, the ACC Network broadcast team announced that Miami coach Mario Cristobal and Florida A&M’s Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. agreed to a shortened 10-minute fourth quarter.
Thursday’s result was the latest in the continued trend of lower-level programs playing against Power conference opponents for high-priced payments that contribute to the athletic departments’ budgets. These are often called “money games” or “guarantee games.” Florida A&M’s game was the second of a two-game series; the first game was played in 2024, when the school received a $700,000 payment.
However, there are instances where the underdog gets the win and gets paid. Last weekend, UMass upset the Big Ten’s Rutgers to the tune of $1.55 million. Other notable payouts in Week 1 included Idaho State over Utah State ($400,000), Tarleton State over Bowling Green ($360,000) and The Citadel over Charlotte ($305,000).
Such was not the case for Florida A&M on Thursday night, losing to a Hurricanes team that has now won its first two games by a staggering 122–13 margin. The Rattlers will get a little longer to rest before their next game, which will come on Sept. 19 against Tennessee State.
