Scheduling a college football isn't as easy as one would think. It costs time — and money — for a program to fill out its entire slate of games for a season.
While every program has a specific amount of conference games to play, with their opponents already predetermined, that's not the case with the entire calendar. Programs must agree with other schools on out-of-conference games, scheduling contests against teams they normally would not play.
More often than not, a powerhouse program will schedule at least a couple of games against weaker programs, allowing the athletes a bit of a "tune-up" game in order to get ready for conference play. This is how you end up with matchups in 2024 such as Alabama vs. Western Kentucky, Georgia vs. UMass and Ohio State vs. Akron.
However, it's not as simple as calling up the program and offering a beatdown. It costs money in order to get these games on the calendar, and we're not just talking about the money for travel and food. Schools actually sign over a check to other universities in order to finalize a matchup.
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So who is paying the most money in 2024? Here are the biggest payouts in college football for the 2024 season.
Biggest college football payouts 2024
How much money would it cost a powerhouse program to schedule an out-of-conference game against a smaller, weaker school?
Apparently a lot more than you would think.
Teams are willing to shell out nearly $2 million to lesser opponents in order to get a game on the schedule. Alabama, Auburn and Georgia are all paying $1.9 million to a school to play a contest this year.
It doesn't always work in their favor. Last year, Auburn paid New Mexico State $1.85 million to play at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers were a 26-point favorite heading into the game, but came out on the wrong side of the contest, losing 31-10.
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Here are the biggest college football payouts for 2024, according to Action Network.
| Team | Opponent | Amount | Date |
| Alabama | Western Kentucky | $1.9 million | Aug. 31 |
| Auburn | New Mexico | $1.9 million | Sept. 14 |
| Georgia | UMass | $1.9 million | Nov. 23 |
| Michigan | Fresno State | $1.85 million | Aug. 31 |
| Michigan | Arkansas State | $1.8 million | Sept. 14 |
| Ohio State | Akron | $1.8 million | Aug. 31 |
| Ohio State | Western Michigan | $1.8 million | Sept. 7 |
| Texas | Colorado State | $1.8 million | Aug. 31 |
| Texas | UTSA | $1.7 million | Sept. 14 |
| LSU | South Alabama | $1.65 million | Sept. 28 |
| Nebraska | UTEP | $1.65 million | Aug. 31 |
| Ohio State | Marshall | $1.6 million | Sept. 21 |
| Ole Miss | Middle Tennessee | $1.6 million | Sept. 7 |
| Texas A&M | Bowling Green | $1.6 million | Sept. 21 |