The Kent State football team has tallied just one win through four games this season, but the Flashes are collecting financial victories as they slowly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kent State received $5.2 million for three non-conference games this month against Washington ($1.8M), No. 18 Oklahoma ($1.5M) and No. 1 Georgia ($1.9M)—all of which were double-digit losses. That’s about 25% of Kent State athletics’ entire operating revenue last fiscal year ($19.6M). After similar payout games were disrupted in 2020, Group of Five programs like the Flashes appreciate the much-needed boost to their coffers.

“The predictability is great,” Kent State athletic director Randale Richmond said in a phone interview. “Knowing what budget number you have coming in is definitely a blessing because of the predictability, you know what other revenues you need to go get. But will the guaranteed games be there at this clip moving forward? Who knows?”

Guarantee games are non-conference matchups that features one school or institution paying another program a flat rate to travel to their stadium or a neutral venue. And most of these games are contractually scheduled years in advance. Eastern Washington, for example, will receive $750,000 to play at Florida on Sunday; the game, scheduled back in 2016 for the 2020 season, was postponed to this year, and then shifted a day because of Hurricane Ian.

While no significant change in the volume is imminent, the future of these contests is more unclear than ever as the NCAA continues to transform. The games are dependent on a variety of factors, including the major realignment of Power Five conferences, television partners making more specific scheduling requests as they bid for rights and the expansion of the College Football Playoff.

The SEC already has inked a $300 million per year extension with ABC and ESPN that kicks in after the 2023 season. The Big Ten followed up this summer with a $7 billion media rights deal with CBS, FOX and NBC. Meanwhile the Big 12, which recently partnered with Endeavor, has opened up media rights negotiations, while the Pac-12’s deals with ESPN and FOX expire in 2024. Conferences and media partners may look to increase the number of high-level matchups.

This, in return, potentially means airing fewer games featuring lower-tier schools.

Many of the smaller FBS schools and the FCS programs revel in participating in these guarantee games; not only does it give the team the chance to recruit in areas of the country they normally can’t due to budget constraints, but they also afford their players an opportunity to play in historic, cavernous stadiums against some of the nation’s most storied programs.

And sometimes, these programs even walk away with both the paycheck and a victory. This month, Appalachian State took home $1.5 million to play in College Station, where they edged Texas A&M 17-14. Middle Tennessee State also received $1.5 million to play at Miami (Fla.) where it won 45-31 last week. Georgia Southern secured a $1.4 million bag in a stunning win over Nebraska, 45-42.