Broadcast for more than twenty years, The Great breed is widely regarded as one of the best reality tv seriesand a new season is coming TV program 2025. The show does a great job of following the journeys that contestants take around the world, and Phil has never shied away from announcing prizes at the end of challengers or seasons, but given the time required and all the different prizes involved, I always wondered how many do The Great breed create participants?
The answer is complicated, but there are quite a few things we know about what happens during the season, as well as the overall price. Let’s see what might happen if one day CBS loves your audition tape too.
The great prize of the great race always remains the same
While the last stage(s) of TAR have been very different over the years, the end result is the same. Each season, the first team to see both contestants reach Phil and touch the mat will earn the $1 million dollar prize. This song is often repeated in the series, although the show has made many changes over the years in how the final stages have played out in the show. There were, for example, last season no non-elimination legs for the first time, so every episode someone went home.
Normally the show was competed in teams of two (with the exception of a very memorable family season featuring a young Stassi Schroeder, who later starred in and became fired from Vanderpump Rules.) This is an important distinction because not every pair that enters is a married couple, meaning prize winnings are typically split in half, with $500,000 going to each participant. Then you have to factor in US taxes, which still have to be paid despite the fact that the money has been extracted around the world, with experts in several states estimating that the government is getting as much as $300 to $350,000 out of that million.
That’s still not too shabby, though, as the contestants (probably) take home around $350,000 each. In reality, the Holderness’ relented a few years ago in a podcast that they took home “just over half” of the prize money after taxes.
Speaking of season 36, friends Ricky Rotandi and César Aldrete took home the big prizebut they also took away much more than just the big prize, thanks to dominant challenges as varied as dance performances and welding. The pair actually won 7 of the total 11 legs, and six of those were before the final.
How extra compensation works during the great race
In fact, there are two routes to extra money and prizes The great breed. The first is to – and I’ll borrow a phrase from my other favorite reality TV series Survivor – Outsmart, survive and beat the other participants in the race. How does this work? The longer you are on the show, the higher the cash payout from CBS.
Early on in the series, during Season 6, one outlet discovered that the 11th-place contestants as a duo only took home $1,500, which admittedly isn’t much to split between two people. And have taxes deducted. The money continues to increase from there even though the taller contestants are on the show. In that same season (via Men’s health), the second-place team took home approximately $25,000 in additional money, while the third-place team took home $10,000.
Since season 6 took place in 2004, there is every reason to believe that these numbers have changed over time. Survivor salaries of the participants, TAR tends to keep the numbers hidden. An Australian version of the show in 2024 did Please note that prize packages for that version of the series varied wildly, with Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe reportedly taking home around $350,000, while additional contestants took home between $50 and $75,000 for their performances. It’s worth noting that this was a celebrity edition of the show in a different country, but it does show how salaries can vary widely.
Which brings us to the final way to “make money”. The great breed. The show often has prize packages ranging from cash prizes to free rides and even cars that expand the goodies participants can take home if they win specific stages. Of course, these prices also come with a caveat; like The price is right and other prize-specific shows preceding it, participants must pay taxes on these prizes.
One of the most unique prizes the show gave out came in season 8: the Branson family won “free gas for life.” Patriarch Wally later clarified this that essentially meant $1,200 worth of gas for 50 years, and to make it less of a hassle, BP and Arco even let the family pay out after a year.
Participants are paid for exposure and a trip around the world
A number of well-known names have chosen to participate TAR over the years, incl The White Lotus‘ Mike White, Big brothers Rachel, Alison, Survivor Rob and Amber and so much more. Some athletes have also participated, including the likes of Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly, pro eater Joey Chestnut and a slew of former NFL and NBA stars. Hopefully more notable names will follow to come.
Even for those who weren’t famous before the show, fan favorites can sometimes build a following on social media or find outside opportunities after their time on the show. Then of course there’s the whole point of it The great breed: the unique opportunity to travel the world with someone you love (or at least hopefully like). The real prize is the priceless experience.