College Students Have Won $2.2M in Pat McAfee Kicking Contest This Season
Students took home $2.7 million in 2025.
In the fourth season of Pat McAfee's Kicking Challenge on ESPN College GameDay, college students have amassed a total of $2.2 million in prize money through just the first three weeks of the season. This marks a significant increase from last year's award of $2.7 million. One standout winner is freshman finance major James Whitehead from Ole Miss, who won a staggering $1 million in his debut attempt on Saturday.
The challenge features contestants attempting a 33-yard field goal, with winnings split between the contestant and either Pat McAfee or Home Depot, the latter of which matched McAfee's contributions this season. Contestants, aged 18 or older, must be among the first 300 to show up to the broadcast and cannot be current or former college athletes, intoxicated, or wearing non-sporting footwear.
The show's crew has made efforts to make the event special, such as driving McAfee's goalposts cross-country for a two-episode, 24-hour expanded College Football Playoff edition.
Written by urgent.news from Front Office Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
