• Loading stock data...
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Front Office Sports Honors winners are here! View the 2025 winners

College Football’s Guarantee Games: High Risks and Higher Payouts

  • Week 1 guarantee games will see some schools make nearly $2 million.
  • For Group of 5 programs, the payments are instrumental.
Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

College football is finally underway, and that means the return of one of the sport’s longest—and most expensive—traditions: guarantee games.

For decades, bigger schools have paid smaller institutions large sums to come play on their home turf. The host typically gets an easy victory, the visitor gets a nice payday, and everyone leaves happy. 

That wasn’t the case last weekend, though, when New Mexico paid $360,000 to Montana State for their Week 0 home opener. The Bobcats, an FCS program, beat the Lobos 35–31. This weekend’s financial favorites—and there are many of them—will be hoping for better luck.

In Week 1 alone, more than $35 million is being shelled out across at least 55 games with monetary guarantee contracts, according to research conducted by Front Office Sports. Those payments range from as little as the $300,000 that Middle Tennessee is paying Tennessee Tech to the $1.9 million check that Alabama is writing to Western Kentucky.

Worth the Price of Admission

“If you’re scheduling somebody like Alabama for a road game, you know the chances of you winning the game are not great,” WKU athletic director Todd Stewart tells FOS

But despite the almost-certain season-opening loss—the Crimson Tide are favored by more than four touchdowns—the pros of the trip to Tuscaloosa severely outweigh the cons, in Stewart’s eyes. “If we didn’t play this game, and our football budget had $1.9 million less, our program would look very different,” he says. The Hilltoppers’ athletic department generated roughly $15 million before subsidies from the university during the 2022–2023 fiscal year—the most recent public financial report. 

There’s also the recruiting benefit of rare national exposure for the Conference USA member, as this will likely be WKU’s only game on the flagship ESPN channel. 

Supply and Demand

After WKU plays Alabama on Saturday, the school will flip the script in Week 2, paying Eastern Kentucky $325,000 for an interstate visit. It’s a common strategy for Group of 5 schools, complementing a road guarantee game by paying for a home FCS opponent. Colorado State will do the same thing, opening at Texas for a fee of $1.8 million before writing a $400,000 check to Northern Colorado next weekend.

Looking forward, Stewart hopes changes like conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff don’t lead to fewer guaranteed game opportunities for schools like WKU. And he wants to set new financial marks along the way. “I hope the amount continues to grow,” he says. “Nobody, to my knowledge, has crossed the $2 million threshold yet.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

The Next Chapter in the Network Battle for College Football Dominance

Saturday’s Texas–Ohio State matchup is the next chapter.

Fox, YouTube TV Avoid Blackout With Short-Term Deal

The upcoming Texas–Ohio State clash will remain available to subscribers.
ESPN

Disney Sues Sling TV Over $5 Day Passes Granting ESPN Access

Newly introduced short-term subscriptions spark a legal challenge.

Featured Today

‘You’re Going to Get Beat Up’: The Liberty’s All-Male Practice Squad

A select group suits up weekly to take on the defending champs.
August 24, 2025

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up as the Texas Longhorns prepare to play the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
August 23, 2025

Schools Are Hesitant to Allow PE Into Their Athletic Departments

Regardless of budget, schools don’t believe the risk is worth the reward.
Oct 2, 2024; Rosemont, IL, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks with the media during the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
August 22, 2025

‘Not Ready to Jump In’: Power 4 Commissioners Aren’t Sold on PE

Top leaders in college sports have yet to see a satisfactory proposal.
Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the spring game at Folsom Field.

Coach Prime Enters Year 3 at Colorado With New Challenges

The Buffaloes have sold out their season tickets yet again.
Oct 17, 2015; Evanston, IL, USA; A general view of the Northwestern Wildcats logo at midfield before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Ryan Field.
August 25, 2025

Northwestern AD Singles Out Volleyball As Sport to Invest In

Northwestern athletic director Mark Jackson spoke to Front Office Sports.
Oregon State Beavers quarterback Gevani McCoy (4) scrambles out of the pocket during an NCAA football game against UNLV at Reser Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Corvallis, Ore.
August 27, 2025

Pac-12 Strikes New Football, Basketball Deal With The CW

The latest step in its resurrection after being picked apart in 2023.
Sponsored

Gareth Bale on MLS vs EPL, Retirement & Buying Cardiff City

Gareth Bale shares his post-soccer business playbook.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) is tackled by Clemson Tigers defensive tackle Payton Page (55) during the second half of the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
August 25, 2025

As College Football Season Kicks Off, NIL Deal Approval Process Still Lags

Many deals are stuck in “purgatory,” one power conference collective operator says.
August 25, 2025

$12.5M Freshman Bryce Underwood Named Michigan’s Starting QB

The Wolverines paid big money to land the highly touted recruit.
McDonald's All-American
August 22, 2025

NCAA Considers Making High School Athletes Register NIL Deals

The rule would likely be tested in court if adopted.
Nov 23, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks at quarterback Drew Allar (15) during the first quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium.
August 22, 2025

Private Equity Enters College Sports—Without the Equity

As college football starts, lending agreements have become PE’s best way in.