GHSA loses money on football championships, pays schools $150K from its own fund

The Georgia High School Association’s football championship games lost money for the first time in 2025, prompting the GHSA to spend $150,000 from its reserves to ensure the 16 participating schools got their usual payouts, which averaged $9,910 this year.

Lower attendance and rising costs for Mercedes-Benz Stadium caused the unprecedented shortfall and sparked a debate among coaches and athletic directors over the merits of using the Atlanta Falcons’ field for the championships.

The three-day paid attendance for the Dec. 15-17 weekday event was down 10.6% — to 46,132 from a record 51,588 in 2024 — leading to $125,813 less in ticket revenue, according to data the GHSA provided to the AJC.

The GHSA was down another $57,134 over last year for the cost of Mercedes-Benz, which charged $705,262 for rent and $138,396 in fees ($3 per ticket). That $843,658 bill was 7.3% higher than last year and 44.8% higher than in 2023, the first year back at Mercedes-Benz after a four-year run at Georgia State’s open-air Center Parc Stadium.

The GHSA, which runs the football playoffs through all rounds, also gets a 12% cut of income from the football finals before expenses. That came to $127,531 this year.

If the event were purely a business venture, the finals might still be at Georgia State. In 2022, the 16 finalists got an average $21,068 paycheck despite about one-third less attendance than the GHSA is getting at Mercedes-Benz. Georgia State charged only $125,000 for rent.

But the GHSA’s aim is to balance cost with other student and fan rewards.

“It’s about providing an experience for our athletes, and Mercedes-Benz is a great facility,” GHSA executive director Tim Scott said. “The vast majority won’t be able to play in it again.”

Not all coaches and athletic directors believe it’s worth it.

“The payout we received is simply not commensurate with the costs of a deep playoff run,” said Gainesville athletic director Adam Lindsey, whose school made $11,672 this year for its Class 5A finals appearance. “Winning is expensive. When you factor in the logistics of five extra (playoff) games — charter buses, lodging, and nutrition — the math doesn’t work. It is a disservice to our schools to be forced into paying for empty, oversized stadiums."

Lindsey would prefer the finals return to high school fields “to preserve the authentic high school atmosphere.”

Lincoln County coach Lee Chomskis shared that position. His team played Bowdon in the Class A Division II final. Lincoln County has won 11 state titles since 1972, all on high school fields.

“We made $7,200 for the state championship,” Chomskis said. “If we would have played in Lincolnton or Bowdon, we would have probably split $40,000.”

Creekside coach Maurice Dixon said he prefers the neutral site that Mercedes-Benz provides, but he was concerned about the economics. His team was Class 4A champion in 2025 and Class 5A runner-up in 2023 and made about $11,525 for each of those games. Schools earned nearly twice that at Georgia State.

“The idea was for a school like ours, that needs money to make upgrades to our program, was that we can get to the championship game and get a nice payout, but we’ve been twice now in (Mercedes-Benz), and we’re appreciative of what we get, but it doesn’t help our program get to the next level to compete with the top teams we play every year,” Dixon said.

Playing finals in larger, neutral stadiums has been controversial since the GHSA went to neutral sites in 2008, starting with the old Georgia Dome. But despite criticisms, opponents have never mounted a serious threat to move them back to high school fields.

Many relish the chance to play at Mercedes-Benz.

“Yes, yes and yes,” Benedictine coach Danny Britt said when asked if he likes the finals at Mercedes-Benz. “I think the championship should be played in the top arena in that state, and ours is special. Yes, it’s costly, but the experience is tremendous. Either they are learning how to play at the next level or getting the closest thing to it for those that won’t make it.”

Britt also said having all games at one venue maximizes TV exposure. Advertisers also prefer a single venue, the GHSA has said.

Buford, the Class 6A champion, has played in 19 state finals this century, winning 14, but athletic director Tom Beuglas said the 2025 final against Carrollton was special because it marked the school’s first game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“I think MBS is a great experience for the schools, players and fans,” Beuglas said. “You know you are not going to contend with weather, cold or rain, and it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some of those kids to ever get to play in that venue.”

Calvary Day coach Jason Cameron’s team played for the Class 3A-A Private final against Hebron Christian. It was Calvary’s first finals appearance since 2013 at the Georgia Dome. Calvary Day’s team and fans drove 500 miles round trip from Savannah.

“The experience for the kids, school and community is more than worth it,” Cameron said. “Loved every minute of it.”

Worth County coach Jeff Hammond said he preferred playing in Mercedes-Benz but said he would like a financial guarantee of something comparable to what he might’ve made playing at home. Worth County was in the finals for the first time since 1990.

“I love the environment for the players and that weather is not a factor,” Hammond said. “On the other hand, the schools should make more. Our payout didn’t cover our expenses for the trip. We didn’t make but $8,000 even though we had one of the largest crowds of all the games.”

The GHSA’s dip into reserves for playoff payouts is a first in any sport, but the association has used that money — which exceeds $5 million, according to the GHSA’s 2024-25 financial report — to pay school membership fees and catastrophic insurance the past six years.

Member schools paid $202,202 for insurance and $109,530 for membership in 2020, the last time the GHSA collected them. The GHSA paused collecting dues during COVID and has yet to resume.

Analyzing the past four years

The GHSA moved its state championship games to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2023 after a four-year run at Georgia State. Here are some of the numbers the GHSA provided to the AJC on Friday. The GHSA does not release the data until payouts are made, typically three months after the games are played.

• 2025
• Income: $1,062,761
• Expenses: $1,088,909
• Net: -$26,148
• 2024
• Income: $1,188,574
• Expenses: $1,043,136
• Net: $145,438
• 2023
• Income: $983,820
• Expenses: 843,803
• Net: $149,017
• 2022
• Income: $663,805
• Expenses: $334,673
• Net: $329,132

Average team payouts

• 2025 — $9,910
• 2024 — $9,489
• 2023 — $9,795
• 2022* — $21,068

*Last year at Georgia State. Rest at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.