Circa Sports Awards Over $20.2 Million in Football Contest Prizes

Nevada might not be a huge cash cow for our best sports betting apps, but it's still the epicenter of brick-and-mortar sports betting in the United States.

Las Vegas-based sports betting operator Circa Sports has announced a new record for its annual football contests. It reported a payout of more than $20.2 million to participants of its Circa Survivor and Circa Million VI flagship events. 

This year's payout includes nearly $14.3 million distributed to winners of the Circa Survivor contest, setting a new record for the largest prize pool in the event's history.

The Circa Survivor 2024-2025 contest offered a guaranteed $10 million payout with no rake for the final entry remaining in the competition. Additional funds were added to the prize pool after the entry limits were exceeded, pushing the total to nearly $14.3 million. 

The contests are a big draw in the Nevada sports betting scene.

Participants were tasked with selecting one NFL team to win outright each week during the regular season, with the rule that players couldn’t choose a team more than once.

The contest included up to 20 rounds, encompassing all 18 weeks of the NFL regular season and two additional weeks for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The format required careful strategy and betting analysis, as participants balanced the timing of their selections to remain in contention until the final week.

Circa Million VI

The Circa Million VI contest awarded $6 million in prizes. The first-place winner received $1 million and a Circa Sports blue jacket. The remaining prize pool was allocated among the top 100 finishers, quarterly winners, and a designated prize for the last-place participants. For their efforts, they received "booby prizes," as the contest calls them.

Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens said in a statement. "Betting history was made this week. This season of the Circa Sports contests was our biggest one yet and a true fight to the finish. Each year, the best part of Circa Survivor and Circa Million is the bond we form with the contestants, and we love their commitment and enthusiasm for every step of the season. Congratulations to all the winners."

The contest challenged players to make five picks against the spread each week. It awarded one point for each correct selection and half a point for a tie. With 126 different ways to win, Circa Million VI attracted many participants and rewarded consistent performance throughout the season.

Circa Survivor

Winners in the most recent contests were from various locations across North America, including Las Vegas, New York, and Canada. The Circa Survivor contest debuted in 2019 with a guaranteed prize pool of $1.5 million. Since then, it has grown significantly in both the number of participants and the prize pool size. 

Each year, the contest introduces unique challenges while maintaining its core format. In the 2024 season, adding holiday-specific weeks for Thanksgiving and Christmas has added another challenge to the competition.

Winners survive rough early start

Less than 4% of Circa Survivor players were alive at the beginning of October as a series of shocks eliminated plenty of contention in the season's early weeks. The Cincinnati Bengals first week loss to the New England Patriots saw over 34% of entries immediately eliminated from the competition. Meanwhile, 9.9% dropped off in the second week, with another 10% falling in week three.