How much prize money do the World Cup winners get?

Robert Zeglinski, For The WinSun, July 19, 2026 at 5:26 PM UTC·1 min read

There is nothing like winning the men's World Cup Final.

You bring back such tremendous pride and honor to your home country. You become a sporting hero to seemingly countless children around the world. You reach what is considered the true pinnacle of sports, the ultimate team achievement. And, most importantly, you gain a special memory that will last a lifetime with teammates who you will likely consider brothers for the rest of your life.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Of course, there is still a monetary prize involved. Because of course there is.

For those curious, the winner of Sunday's World Cup Final between Argentina and Spain will earn $51 million. That is not $51 million per player and coach, to be clear. That money is spread out over the entire team. The loser, a.k.a. runner-up, will earn $34 million total. Hey, still not a bad consolation prize!

Even if both prizes are spread out, that's quite a bit of cheddar to earn for one singular match, win or lose.

Does every World Cup team earn some money from the tournament?

Yes, all 48 teams earned a baseline amount of prize money just for qualifying for the tournament. Everyone gets at least $12.5 million just for making the tournament. That is $2.5 million for relevant tournament expenses and $10 million for making it to the group stage.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: How much prize money do the World Cup winners get?