Florida football entered the 2025 football season with a welcome sense of optimism after a largely difficult first three years under coach Billy Napier.
The Gators won their final four games of the 2024 season, capped off by a blowout victory against Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl. They appeared to have a burgeoning star in quarterback DJ Lagway, a former five-star recruit who was critical to the late-season surge. With promising pieces like Lagway back, they earned a preseason No. 17 ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
It took just the second game of the season for those dreams of better days to suffer a significant setback.
After a 55-0 win against Long Island in Week 1, Florida fell at home to South Florida 18-16 on Saturday, Sept. 6 after a 20-yard game-winning field goal from Nico Gramatica as time expired, a scoring drive made possible, in part, by a series of Gator penalties.
Not only did Florida lose to an in-state opponent from a smaller conference, but it had to pay for the honor. Here’s a look at how much the Gators had to pay South Florida for Saturday’s loss:
How much did Florida pay South Florida?
As part of an agreement between the schools, Florida owes South Florida $500,000 for making the trip to Gainesville for Saturday’s game, according to a game contract obtained by the USA TODAY Sports Network.
The Gators’ loss Saturday was the final game of a three-game series between the programs. The teams met on Sept. 11, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa — South Florida’s home venue — and played again on Sept. 17, 2022 in at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. Florida won each of those games.
For each of the first two games of the series, the home team paid the visiting team $250,000 for the contest. Saturday’s game, which gave the Gators an extra home game in the three-game arrangement, came with a $500,000 payday for the Bulls.
And, most importantly, a win.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How much does Florida football owe USF? Gators must pay $500K for Bulls upset
Reporting by Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
