Circa Sports continues to make history with its football contests. Together with Circa Survivor, Circa Million VIII, and Circa Grandissimo, Circa Sports’ total football prize pool this season is $38.7 million, topping the $30 million combined guarantee.
Key Takeaways
- This year’s Circa Survivor prize pool topped $25 million, up from last year’s $18.7 million.
- The combined prize pool for all of Circa’s football contests came in at $38.7 million, exceeding the $30 million guarantee.
- To understand the drama behind the Circa Survivor contest, the docuseries, “Circa Survivor: The Quest for $18.7M,” is currently available on VSIN’s YouTube Channel.
At the close of registration Saturday, Circa Sports’ three rake-free football contests attracted 30,884 entries and will award $38,717,000 for the 2026-2027 professional football season.
Our #CircaSports Football Contests 🏈🏆 continue to grow 📈
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) September 13, 2026
30,884 Total Signups 📋
$38,507,000 at stake 💰
The MOST Guaranteed Prizes ever 🤑
Over $25 Million in Survivor 😱
Can't wait to see you at the awards dinner 😎🥩🍻#CircaSportsMillion #CircaSurvivor #CircaGrandissimo pic.twitter.com/E6l7fIosOI
Circa Survivor had 25,017 entries, generating a $25-million prize pool. It’s the largest pool in the contest’s history. Last year, Circa Survivor’s prize pool of $18.7 million was won by five players. Each of the contestants who went 20-0 during the 2025-2026 season received $3.7 million.
To appreciate the nail-biting drama behind the Circa Survivor contest, fans can view “Circa Survivor: The Quest for $18.7M.” The seven-episode series follows the strategies, personalities, eliminations, and high-stakes decisions that led to last year’s massive wins. All episodes are available on VSiN’s YouTube channel.
This year also saw increases in Circa’s other two football contest pools. Last year, Circa Grandissimo had a prize pool of $6.9 million. This year, the $100,000 entry fee contest attracted 77 contestants for a $7.7-million prize pool. Meanwhile, this year’s Circa Million VIII total prize pool came in at $6 million.
Derek Stevens, owner and CEO of Circa Resort and Casino, gave a lot of credit for this year’s phenomenal growth to the Circa team.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“Just the volume of people that I think decided to jump in at the very last minute. I mean it was hectic,” Stevens said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I really have to thank our team led by Jeff Benson, Mike Palm, our whole crew, the people in the risk room, the customer support, the writers. Really unbelievable. This was just a machine.”
The contests
Circa Survivor: The contest will award its prize pool to the last person – or persons – standing. The contest features one pick each week, with participants choosing a team to win straight up without using the same team twice for the duration of the season. In addition to the 18 regular-season weeks, Thanksgiving/Black Friday and Christmas Day serve as standalone contest legs.
Circa Million VIII: As its name implies, the first-place winner of the Circa Million VIII will take home $1 million, along with the coveted Circa Sports blue jacket. Entrants make five picks against the spread each week, with one point awarded for each correct selection and one-half point for each push. Prize money is distributed among the season-long leaders, quarterly winners and booby prize finishers, giving entrants multiple opportunities to cash throughout the season.
Circa Grandissimo: Grandissimo participants put up a $100,000 entry fee for this elite, high stakes, survivor contest. Entrants receive a three-night stay at Circa and a dinner at Barry’s Downtown Prime. After reaching the contest’s 40-entry guarantee ahead of the registration deadline, every additional $100,000 entry was added directly to the prize pool.
