Pat McAfee has put more than $6 million of his own money into GameDay prizes and charity; Home Depot matched his $500,000 LSU offer, giving one student two kicks at $1 million, but both missed
An LSU undergraduate missed out on a life-changing $1 million (£760,000) prize on national television after missing two field goal attempts during ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast in Baton Rouge. The high-stakes challenge saw sports analyst and former NFL punter Pat McAfee offer $500,000 from his own money. Show sponsor Home Depot then matched the amount, raising the total prize to $1 million. According to reports from EssentiallySports and Yahoo Sports, the contest took place during the 500th road broadcast of College GameDay, as the network began its 40th season outside Louisiana State University’s campus quad. The huge prize was one of the biggest single-kick opportunities in the history of the weekly segment.
Double trouble on the 33-yard mark
The contestant, an LSU freshman named Bruce, was chosen through a random raffle from students who had arrived early inside the broadcast area. Under the contest rules, non-varsity students must make a standard 33-yard field goal. With $1 million at stake, Bruce stepped up for his first attempt, but the kick went wide. Following the segment’s tradition of giving contestants a second chance, McAfee offered Bruce a mulligan for the full $1 million prize. However, the second kick also went wide, leaving the crowd disappointed and the prize unclaimed. After the second miss, McAfee posted a video of the kick on X with the caption: “NO GOOD AGAIN GOOD EFFORT BRUCE.”
Self-funded prizes and corporate matching
The live kicking challenge has become one of College GameDay’s best-known segments since McAfee introduced it during his second season as a permanent analyst. Since the feature began, McAfee has personally put more than $6 million of his own money into student prizes and direct charitable donations at university campuses across the US. “McAfee put up $500k for a successful kick. Home Depot said it would match whatever McAfee offered for the full season,” EssentiallySports wrote in its report on the event. In previous contests, McAfee has donated money to charities or university hardship funds even when students missed their kicks. However, no additional charitable donation was announced after the Baton Rouge misses.
A history of student windfalls
Although the opening weekend ended without a winner, previous seasons have produced several student millionaires and large charitable donations. During the 2023 season, Washington student Greyson Wilhelm became the first contestant to make a winning kick. He won $30,000 on a second attempt. The prize amounts grew sharply in later seasons. In 2024, Georgia students Henry Silver and Belle Sessions shared a $400,000 prize after making a 33-yard kick. The successful attempt also triggered an additional $400,000 donation towards hurricane relief. Other major wins came at Vanderbilt, where student Tyler Hwang won $500,000 along with a $250,000 charitable donation. At Texas Tech, John Machtolff made a second-chance kick to win $250,000, with another $250,000 going to charity. With Home Depot promising to match McAfee’s prize offers throughout the college football season, the weekly kicking challenge will continue giving students the chance to win seven-figure prizes at future College GameDay broadcast locations.
