College bowl season is a world apart. With 43 games sporting the noun "bowl" somewhere in their names, it's hard to keep track of each one, but it's even harder to keep track of the money they generate each year.

From the almost unknown Famous Toastery Bowl to the centenary Rose Bowl Game, college bowls leave a million-dollar profit for the NCAA.

Although each game has a specified purse for the teams that play them, that money does not go directly to the coffers of the university in question, but to the account of the conference to which the team belongs and it distributes it among its members accordingly with their own criteria.

The most concrete example is the teams that compete in the College Football Playoff (CFP). The conferences where the semifinalist teams play receive $6 million each, although they do not receive any extra payment if their team reaches the final.

This year, the four semifinalist teams were Michigan, from the Big Ten Conference; Washington, of the Pac-12; Texas, from the Big 12; and Alabama, from the SEC.

Games that belong to the CFP, but are not chosen to host some of the semifinals, award $4 million to the conferences of the teams that play them.

This year, the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl were chosen to host the semifinals, while the Fiesta Bowl and Citrus Bowl will host seeded teams that did not advance to the finals.

The problem of distribution of the prize pool

In the end, among other funds and awards they receive, each conference applies its criteria. For example, a Big 12 team participating in a semifinal can receive a $2.5 million participation subsidy and a travel subsidy of $450 per one-way mile, or a $2.1 million participation subsidy and $950 per mile of travel to the championship game. The team receives the greater amount.

The SEC, for its part, gives $2.05 million to each team that participates in the semifinals and an additional $2.15 million if the team reaches the finals.

The other conferences do not report their information or do not give bonuses for participating in the playoff and distribute the money equally to their members.

What do players get for playing in bowl games?

Players do not receive cash or bonuses for participating in bowl games. Instead, they receive incentives in the form of gifts that cannot exceed $550 per player.

For example, this year, players participating in the Military Bowl will each receive an Xbox One console and an Under Armor backpack, among other items.

Sugar Bowl players will receive a Fossil watch and a New Era cap. In turn, those who will compete in the Rose Bowl will receive a Fossil watch, an Oakley Works backpack, and a New Era 59Fifty cap. The organizing committee did not reveal the prizes for players who make it to the Championship game.