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FAMU left Miami with a $760,000 package Thursday night, but the HBCU also left Hard Rock Stadium on the wrong end of a 77-7 score that puts college football money games back under the microscope.
No. 7 Miami overwhelmed Florida A&M in nearly every measurable way. The Hurricanes piled up a school-record 856 yards, scored touchdowns on 11 of their first 12 possessions and finished with 42 first downs. FAMU managed 107 total yards, and the teams agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes after the result was long decided.
The financial return, however, was substantial.
According to the game contract obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, FAMU will receive $720,000 for playing Miami and another $40,000 for bringing the Marching 100 to Hard Rock Stadium. That brings the total package to $760,000.
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FAMU money game comes days after Edward Waters warning
The timing makes the result particularly notable across HBCU football.
Less than a week earlier, Edward Waters University President A. Zachary Faison Jr. publicly questioned whether his team’s payout against Jackson State was worthwhile. FCS Jackson State defeated the Division II Tigers 66-14.
Edward Waters received a $65,000 guarantee for that game. Faison said travel and related expenses totaled roughly $30,000 to $35,000, leaving the university with approximately $30,000.
“The economics do not work,” Faison wrote.
He also pointed directly to the scholarship disparity between NCAA divisions. Edward Waters had 29 funded football scholarships, while FCS programs are permitted as many as 63. Faison said Edward Waters will no longer schedule Division I football opponents unless the terms materially advance the program, including a target of at least $100,000 in net revenue after expenses.
HBCU Gameday previously detailed Faison’s argument, which distinguished between a difficult loss that produces meaningful financial value and one that does not.
HBCU football faces a different calculation at the FCS level
FAMU’s situation is not identical to Edward Waters’. The Rattlers are an FCS program collecting more than 10 times the guarantee Edward Waters received from Jackson State. A $760,000 package can fund scholarships, travel, staffing and other athletic department needs in ways a $30,000 net return cannot.
But Thursday also illustrated the other side of the transaction.
FAMU played South Carolina State in the Orange Blossom Classic on Sunday, losing 31-13, then returned to Hard Rock Stadium just four days later to face a nationally ranked Miami team with far greater resources and depth.
By halftime, Miami led 42-0. The Hurricanes finished with 749 more yards than the Rattlers, and their 77 points tied a school record.
The result came just days after Faison argued that lopsided games can affect far more than a team’s win-loss record. Recruiting perception, player health, competitive development and the image of a program can all become part of the price.
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When is an HBCU money game worth it?
That question is becoming harder to ignore.
Tennessee State received $600,000 before losing 63-3 at Georgia earlier this month. Morgan State received $600,000 for its trip to Arizona State and lost 70-7. FAMU now adds a $760,000 package and a 70-point defeat to the growing 2026 sample.
The checks matter. For athletic departments operating with significantly smaller budgets than their Power Four opponents, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be meaningful. But so can the cost.
Faison’s stance at Edward Waters did not call for HBCUs to stop playing larger programs altogether. His argument was that the compensation has to justify what the matchup demands from the institution and its football team.
FAMU received significantly more than Edward Waters did. Whether $760,000 makes a 77-7 result on national TV a worthwhile trade is a different question. It’s one HBCU athletic departments may increasingly have to answer for themselves.
The post Miami paid FAMU nearly $800k. Was it enough? appeared first on HBCU Gameday.
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