College basketball’s version of LIV Golf arrived last year, The Players Era Festival. And it wasted no time shaking things up. Launched with just eight teams, the Las Vegas–based, NIL-powered event immediately disrupted the nonconference landscape. Its arrival has already put serious pressure on the traditional holiday tournaments that once ruled early-season college hoops. And the reason programs are suddenly lining up for it? Simple. Money. A whole lot of it. So, how much are teams and players actually making from the Players Era Festival?

According to Jeff Goodman’s post on X, Players Era founder Seth Berger revealed that on average, every team will earn more than $1 million in NIL compensation.

“With the NIL opportunities, the kids actually have to perform activations, marketing services, social media postings, and so we make sure that each kid, each athlete is meeting fair-market value for that,” said Berger to ESPN. “And again, it’s in excess of a million dollars on average per team.”

He also confirmed that the winner of Wednesday’s championship game will receive an additional $1 million in NIL compensation. The losing team will still take home $500,000, making it the first $1.5 million game in college basketball history. That’s not all! The winner of Wednesday’s third-place game will earn a $300,000 NIL payout, while the losing team will pocket $200,000. You can clearly see why programs are starting to ditch events like the Maui Invitational and Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas.

This season, the field has expanded from 8 to 18 teams. Of the 18 programs that competed in Las Vegas from the 24th of November, eight were ranked in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The field also included 14 teams that played in the March Madness last season. Here’s the full list of teams:

• Alabama
• Auburn
• Baylor
• Creighton
• Gonzaga
• Houston
• Iowa State
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Notre Dame
• Oregon
• Rutgers
• San Diego State
• St. John’s
• Syracuse
• UNLV
• Tennessee

Next season, the Players Era Festival is set for a massive expansion, jumping from this year’s 18-team field to a full 32 teams. According to Seth Berger, 26 programs have already committed for next year, including all 18 teams that competed in Las Vegas since Monday. And if there was ever any doubt about the long-term sustainability of the tournament, that’s now been put to rest as well. The Big 12 Conference has officially purchased a $50 million equity stake in the event, and as part of the deal, the top eight teams in the Big 12 standings will receive automatic bids to next year’s tournament. This agreement runs through 2030!

Berger also revealed that the event is already profitable in just its second year. However, on the women’s side, things will start much smaller. The inaugural women’s Players Era event featuring South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and Duke will tip off on Wednesday, and Berger admitted it will lose money this year.

For this season, each team was scheduled to play three guaranteed games in the Players Era Festival. After every team completed its second matchup, their win–loss records determined who would advance to the championship game or the third-place game on Nov. 26. And now, that moment has finally arrived. The title game is set.

Who Will Meet in the Players Era Festival Championship Game?

Oregon came into this year’s Players Era Festival as the defending champions. Last season, Dana Altman’s Ducks dramatically won the title after Nate Bittle’s put-back dunk with 4.4 seconds left sealed the championship against Nate Oats’ Alabama. But this time around, things look very different. Neither Oregon nor Alabama will be playing for the title.

The title showdown is set: Gonzaga vs. Michigan. The Wolverines punched their ticket to the finals with a dominant run, first blowing out San Diego State by 40, then crushing last season’s No. 1 team heading into the big dance, Auburn, by 30. Gonzaga has been just as impressive. The Bulldogs beat Alabama 95–85, then crushed Maryland by 39 points to book their spot in the title game.

Who do you think wins the game and takes home the extra $1 million prize? Drop your predictions in the comments below!