How much do The Amazing Race contestants really make? Inside the show's longstanding prize structure

For more than two decades, The Amazing Race has sent teams sprinting across continents for a prize that has remained unchanged since the series premiered in 2001.

The $1 million cash award has become one of television’s most recognizable jackpots, but the path from the mat to the bank account is far more complicated than the number suggests.

When Season 38 ended on December 10, 2025 - featuring past Big Brother participants alongside family members finishing a fast-paced worldwide race - old doubts popped up again around contestants' pay, personal winnings, yet also how cash gets handed out once the main prize is covered.

Earnings, taxes, and prizes on The Amazing Race

Season after season, The Amazing Race places its million-dollar reward at the center of its storytelling.

But as accounting experts and former contestants have clarified over the years, the winners do not walk away with the full amount.

Speaking to The News & Observer in 2022, Roby Sawyers, undergraduate director in North Carolina State University’s Department of Accounting, explained, 

“They most certainly will not keep the whole million dollars.”

Sawyers noted that the prize “is considered income,” making it subject to both federal and state taxes. He said,

“If you look at the $1 million earnings like it’s the only income they have, my calculation has $300,000 taken out in federal taxes — 30%.” 

He also added that the final number varies based on residence, additional earnings, and other personal factors.

Sawyers estimated that, depending on the state a winning team calls home, “roughly $400,000 of the $1 million payout” can be lost to combined federal and state taxation.

Still, the show’s grand prize remains one of the highest among American reality competitions, even as the take-home figure shrinks considerably after the IRS enters the picture.

Even without the cash jackpot, the road to the finish line on The Amazing Race can be lucrative.

Across 38 seasons, teams have earned an array of secondary rewards — vacations, cars, and sponsored experiences — with companies like Travelocity, Expedia, and Ford supplying some of the most memorable bonuses.

Yet those perks come with fine print. In a 2013 interview with The A.V. Club, Season 21 racer Mark “Abba” Abbattista offered a candid assessment of the true cost of those prizes. He said,

“So if the trip is worth $10,000, guess what? You owe Uncle Sam $3,500.”

Abbattista added that such trips “are not all-inclusive,” explaining that while airfare and hotels are covered, “all the food is not included,” which forces winners to spend additional money on logistics or experiences they may not have chosen themselves.

Noting that the hidden costs deter some contestants from redeeming rewards at all, he continued,

“I don’t know if a lot of people ever use the trip or not.”

As Season 38 demonstrated — featuring finalists Jag and Jas Bains, Joseph and Adam Abdin, and Taylor Hale and Kyland Young — the competition’s payout structure often shapes the stakes of each leg.

When returning teams or past winners appear on the show, their reflections on what they earned in earlier seasons often reveal a practical understanding of the gap between television presentation and financial reality.

The question of whether all contestants receive compensation has circulated for years. While CBS does not publicly release details of appearance fees or stipends, Abbattista has stated that racers get “some kind of money for the order that you come in,” suggesting a tiered compensation model based on elimination placement.

Though the exact amounts remain undisclosed, the practice mirrors payout structures used by other long-running reality competitions, which often provide escalating stipends the longer a contestant remains on the show.

The persistence of The Amazing Race’s prize structure — even as the show has evolved through pandemic-era redesigns and a global casting crossover with Big Brother — speaks to its identity.

The million-dollar carrot remains symbolic, a fixed north star for teams tearing through airports and deciphering clue boxes.

For the audience, it reflects the show’s constant: a life-changing reward at the end of a challenge defined by resilience, cooperation, and quick decision-making.

For the racers, the money’s true value lies in what remains after taxes, travel, and the demands of a televised global journey.

With Season 38 now complete and another team added to the series’ long history of winners, the financial realities behind the race continue to underscore a simple truth: the million-dollar prize is a starting point, not a final tally. 

As new teams prepare for future seasons of The Amazing Race, the show’s longstanding prize structure — visible, familiar, and often misunderstood — remains one of its defining features.

Stay tuned for more updates.