Whichever team gets to hold the College Football Playoff national championship trophy next month, its players will have secured a total gift haul of up to $5,620 should they run the table across their conference title game, the semifinal bowl game and the Jan. 9 national championship.
The potential amount comes thanks to a series of gifts and awards allowed under NCAA rules for each level of success a team achieves during the college football postseason, given by the schools, conferences and bowl committees.
The total amount allowed in postseason gifts and awards for FBS college football players and participants
| Type of award |
School |
Conference |
Bowl organizer |
Total value |
| Conference championship game participation* |
$375 |
$375 |
-0- |
$375 |
| Conference champion |
$325 |
$325 |
-0- |
$650 |
| Bowl participation |
$400 |
$400 |
$550 |
$1,350 |
| Bowl winner |
$325 |
$325 |
-0- |
$650 |
| CFP National Championship participation |
$400 |
$400 |
$550 |
$1,350 |
| CFP National Championship winner |
$415 |
$415 |
$415 |
$1,245 |
| Potential overall total value |
$5,620 |
* The combined value cannot exceed $375.
Source: NCAA
The NCAA allows each bowl committee to provide gift packages worth up to $550 apiece to 125 participants per school. Schools can, and usually do, buy additional gifts that they can distribute to others beyond that 125 limit. Participants also can receive awards worth up to $400 from their school and $400 from their conference for a bowl appearance. CFP title game qualifiers are allowed these totals for the second game, too.
Last year, for example, Alabama and Clemson, which played in the national championship game, received rings from the SEC and ACC, respectively, for winning their conference titles. Then both teams received gifts from the groups that ran the College Football Playoff semifinal games — Alabama from the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and Clemson from the Capital One Orange Bowl. Then the CFP committee provided players on both teams with a Tumi carry-on, a Nixon watch with a commemorative box, a New Era 5950 cap and an Ogio backpack for their participation in the championship game.
Bowl gifts
Click here for a comprehensive list of bowl game gifts by date. The chart also includes links to Resource Guide Live for more information on the bowl games.
Additionally, per NCAA rules, players and coaches on bowl-winning teams can receive up to $325 in additional awards from both their school and conference. Players on the national championship team can receive an additional allotment of up to $415 from both their school, conference and the CFP committee.
Alabama players, for example, received two national championship rings last season (see related story).
Conference champions are allowed $325 in gifts and awards from both their school and conference, while conference championship game participants can receive up to $375 in gifts — meaning up to $1,025 in gifts and awards for a team that wins its conference title game.
The postseason awards are allowed for all 80 postseason-bound college football teams across 49 games — 40 bowls, eight conference title games and the national championship game.
