Here’s how much money Clemson is paying Furman for 2025 football game
Clemson football plays its annual game against an in-state FCS team on Saturday.
As per usual, that game will earn the visiting team a six-figure payday.
Furman, an FCS school located in nearby Greenville, will earn $500,000 from Clemson for its football team’s trip to Memorial Stadium, according to a game contract obtained by The State via public records request.
Clemson must pay Furman that $500,000 “guarantee” payment by Feb. 15, 2026.
Kickoff is Saturday’s game is set for 4:30 p.m. on The CW.
The Tigers (5-5) are a massive betting favorite over the FCS Paladins (5-6), to the point where most sportsbooks aren’t even offering a point spread. ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Clemson a 98.9% chance of beating Furman on Saturday.
Clemson’s $500,000 payment to Furman is in line with recent payments it’s made to other FCS schools. Under coach Dabo Swinney, the Tigers have historically played one home game a year against an in-state FCS opponent.
Clemson paid The Citadel $475,000 for a game in Clemson last year, and Charleston Southern earned $400,000 for its 2023 game at Clemson. Clemson paid Furman $415,000 for the Paladins’ last game in Death Valley in 2022.
Clemson has won 32 consecutive games against Furman dating back to 1936.
Clemson is also 39-0 against FCS teams since 1978 and has won 38 of those 39 games by double digits. It’s worth noting Clemson’s last meeting with Furman and coach Clay Hendrix resulted in one of their closer games against an FCS foe.
Clemson beat Furman 35-12 in 2022, but that 23-point win marked Clemson’s lowest margin of victory against an FCS team since Wofford in 2011 (+8).
Football “guarantee game” payments are significant for an FCS school like Furman.
According to the private university’s most recent tax records, it generated about $4.3 million in athletics revenue in fiscal year 2024. Assuming that number holds steady, Clemson’s $500,000 payment alone would represent about 12% of Furman’s total athletics revenue for the next fiscal year.
Here are some additional notes on the Clemson-Furman contract:
Clemson-Furman 2025 game contract details
- The contract was signed over eight years ago, in October 2017.
- Clemson provided Furman 300 free tickets. Furman had the option of requesting up to 2,000 additional tickets from Clemson to sell to its fans.
- Furman’s band, cheerleaders and mascot get into the game free of charge.
- Furman is allowed to conduct a team walkthrough at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium the day before the game (Friday) some time between 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. That walkthrough had to be formally requested by Sunday.
- Clemson will provide Furman with 60 team bench area passes, 16 all-access passes, eight coaches’ booth passes and six team/coaches video passes. Furman will also receive parking passes for one equipment truck, four buses and six cars. All passes must be used by the football program or administration.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 7:45 AM.
