Million-Dollar Bonuses to $2 Hot Dogs: The Big Money of Ohio State’s Title

Ohio State captured its first football national title in a decade Monday night, beating Notre Dame 34–23 in Atlanta. 

The game concluded the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The Dec. 20 start meant first-round games on college campuses and games occasionally bumping up against NFL territory.

The victory came with plenty of financial rewards. Here are the numbers to know from Monday’s result: 

$1 million: Total bonuses earned by Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day for winning the national title. Day earned $500,000 for Monday night’s win alone, but combined with his other postseason incentives, hits seven figures to add to his $10 million salary 

$700,000: Total bonuses earned by Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly for the team’s performance this year. The CFP win netted him another $100,000 under a contract that gives up a 5% bonus for a title win; Kelly’s base salary is $2 million. Day’s 10 assistant coaches each qualified for six-figure bonuses 

$770,000: OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’s total bonus earnings, a slightly higher amount than Kelly’s due to his $2.2 million base salary 

$46 million: Total payout to the Big Ten, of which OSU is a member

$2.6 million: Amount paid out to each of the Big Ten’s 17 members for OSU winning the national title. The Buckeyes got the same amount as their peers (Notre Dame gets to keep the $20 million it made to itself because it’s not in a conference)

$20 million: Approximate cost of Ohio State’s entire roster in NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals 

$285–300 million: Ohio State’s annual athletics budget, which it says is the largest in the country

$4 million: ESPN color analyst Kirk Herbstreit’s annual salary with the network. Herbstreit, a former OSU quarterback, called the game for ESPN. Herbstreit’s broadcast partner, Chris Fowler, reportedly makes $3 million annually 

$1–$1.1 million: Cost of a 30-second advertisement on ESPN during the national championship game, according to Navigate Research 

$1.3 billion: Price ESPN pays annually to broadcast the entire 12-team College Football Playoff

$2,500: Average price per ticket sold for the title game, according to StubHub. The price range was from $1,740 to $6,287 

$50,000: Bonus Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork received for the Buckeyes making the title game. Bjork’s annual salary is $2 million annually 

$200: Lowest rate for a hotel room in the Atlanta area for Monday night 

$500: Price of a one-way ticket for a Southwest Airlines flight from Columbus to Atlanta on Monday

$2: Cost of a hot dog at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is known for its fan-friendly prices

$900 million: Price Mercedes-Benz paid for the naming rights to the stadium in 2015, two years before it opened 

This story has been updated.