CFP Notebook: Miami Taking Home Over $20 Million From Playoff. Ticket Prices Still Over $3K, Thanks To Indiana

The ACC might have garnered a few years of unflattering headlines regarding revenue distribution to ‘premier’ teams within the conference, but I would have to imagine Miami is at least excited about their CFP payout heading into their championship game against Indiana. 

Thanks to a negotiated contract, the College Football Playoff pays out around $100 million to its participating conferences on a yearly basis. 

In most cases, that money which each conference receives based on the success of each team participating in the postseason will be divided up between other members of the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Group of Six member schools. 

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But, not the ACC, with Miami facing Indiana next Monday for a national championship. 

The agreed-upon contract between ACC member institutions started in 2024, which allows each team from the conference who makes the CFP to keep its earnings from their postseason run. After last season's playoff, it was SMU and Clemson taking home $4 million each for their appearance. 

This year? Miami is set to receive a check of more than $20 million for their run to the national title game. The additional revenue comes from the same agreement, which other conferences will see split up between each member institution. 

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That means Indiana is earning money for a school like Purdue right now with their continued winning, as the Big Ten's contract allows for other conference schools to receive a percentage of overall earnings every season. The same can be said for the SEC, who will not have a team competing for a national championship for the third-straight season. 

Oh, and thanks to the title game being played in Miami, the school will also have the ability to pocket the $3 million travel expenses check. Yes, the Hurricanes will most certainly abide by CFP standards and pay for their hotels just a few miles from campus, but a majority of that money will go towards the football program's budget. 

So even though ACC member institutions might have been unhappy, and still are, about television revenue compared to other conferences, commissioner Jim Phillips is trying to make it up to his schools with this incentive-based agreement. 

Indiana Fans Preparing To Invade South Beach? Absolutely 

Based on what we have seen over the last few weeks with Hoosier fans turning the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl into home-game environments, you can expect that same type of enthusiasm next weekend in Miami. But, this will be one expensive trip to Florida.

I, for one, have never seen a school's fanbase takeover a postseason game like Indiana fans have done, especially in Atlanta. Sure, I know the geographical upperhand that playing only eight hours away from a venue creates, but having over 50,000 fans invade Atlanta last Friday was impressive. 

And, they are preparing for one more takeover in Miami. 

Even though this game against the Hurricanes will be played inside Hard Rock Stadium, I would imagine we are going to see a 50-50 split in fan attendance. 

Given that each school receives 20,000 tickets for the title game, with the other percentage going to the CFP to distribute (sell), I would expect the secondary market to continue pushing out expensive inventory. 

As I sat down inside Mercdes-Benx Stadium for the Peach Bowl matchup, there were just over 1,300 listings on StubHub. Currently, there are just over 450 listings on the secondary ticket site, as of Sunday night. 

It helps that Hoosier fans are preparing to travel in droves, and Miami fans wanting to see their first title since 2001 have created chaos around tickets. 

How much will you have to spend to get in? I hope fans are prepared to sell an organ, or potentially open a new credit account at their local bank. 

Right now, the cheapest ticket on most secondary ticket sites is hovering around $3,300. Essentially, we have reached Super Bowl level prices for the college football playoff title game. And, I don't know that they will drop like plenty of fans are hoping for. 

Since Hard Rock Stadium can only hold just over 65,000 people, and you factor in how many tickets each school is allotted, the chances of getting into this game for under $2,500 seem pretty slim. 

So, Godspeed to Indiana and Miami fans preparing to spend an insane amount of money for the chance to watch potential history unfold.